Davy Jones (baseball)

Davy Jones (baseball)
Davy Jones

Outfield
Born: June 30, 1880(1880-06-30)
Cambria, Wisconsin, United States
Died: March 30, 1972(1972-03-30) (aged 91)
Mankato, Minnesota, United States
Batted: Left Threw: Right 
MLB debut
September 15, 1901 for the Milwaukee Brewers
Last MLB appearance
September 2, 1918 for the Detroit Tigers
Career statistics
Batting average     .270
Hits     1020
On-base percentage     .356
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • Played in three World Series for Detroit, 1907-1909, with 13 hits, 8 runs, an a .357 on base percentage
  • Among AL leaders in on base percentage in 1907 (.357) and 1910 (.362)
  • No. 2 in AL in runs in 1907 with 101
  • No. 5 in AL in Bases on Balls in 1907 with 60

David Jefferson "Davy" Jones (June 30, 1880 – March 30, 1972), nicknamed "Kangaroo",[1] was an outfielder in Major League Baseball. He played fifteen seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Browns, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and Pittsburgh Rebels. Jones played with some of the early legends of the game, including Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, Frank Chance, Three Finger Brown, Hugh Duffy and Jesse Burkett. Also, he played part of one year with the Chicago White Sox where several of his teammates would later be implicated in the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Jones was immortalized in the classic baseball book The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence Ritter.

Davy Jones was mostly a platoon rather than a full-time player who was decent with the bat and swift on his feet. He played in the major leagues from 1901 to 1918, compiling a .270 career batting average with over 1,000 hits.

Contents

Early years

Born in Cambria, Wisconsin, as David Jefferson, he later changed his last name to Jones. He attended college at Northern Illinois University, and learned to be a druggist before becoming a ball player while living in Portage and Mauston, Wisconsin. Jones would go on to purchase a drug store in Detroit in 1910 during his playing days.[2]

Jones was 21 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 15, 1901, with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Davy Jones baseball card.jpg

Detroit Tigers

Jones spent much of his career playing outfield with the Detroit Tigers, alongside Hall of Fame outfielders, Ty Cobb and Wahoo Sam Crawford. With Cobb and Crawford solidly entrenched in the outfield, Jones was forced to battle for the 3rd outfield spot with Matty McIntyre each year from 1906-1910.

As a speedy leadoff man, he was a reliable run scorer with Cobb and Crawford following him in the lineup. Jones' speed also made him a fine outfielder, with tremendous range. In 1907, he made 282 putouts and had a range factor of 2.45, 58 points higher than the average outfielder of his day.[3] Jones had his best season in 1907. That year, he had a .357 on base percenetage (the best in the American League). He also scored 101 runs, second in the American League behind his teammate Sam Crawford. Jones was also amont the AL leaders in 1907 in bases on balls (60) and stolen bases (30). The Tigers advanced to the first of three consecutive World Series in 1907, and Jones batted .353 with a .476 on base percentage in a losing effort to the Chicago Cubs. In his three World Series for the Tigers, Jones played in 18 games, had a .357 on base percentage, scored 8 runs, and had a home run in the 1909 Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Germany Schaefer incident

Jones is also known for recounting a famous story in The Glory of Their Times about the early ballplayer/comedian Germany Schaefer. According to Jones, Schaefer was the only player who ever stole first in a ballgame. The instance evidently took place September 4, 1908 during a Detroit game versus Cleveland. With Davy Jones on third and Schaefer at first, the double steal was on. But as Germany slid into second base safe, the Cleveland catcher held onto the ball. In order to set up the double-steal again, Schaefer took off screaming for first on the next pitch and dove in headfirst in without a play. This stunned the players, fans and umpires, but it was perfectly legal. On the next pitch, the double steal worked. In the same interview, Jones also mentions how, as the lead off batter for the Detroit Tigers, he was the first hitter to face the great pitcher Walter Johnson.[4]

Retirement

At the age of 38, having retired from baseball and now running a successful pharmacy in Detroit, Jones was inserted into one game by an old friend who was managing the ball club, Hughie Jennings. Jones had played for Jennings while with the Tigers. The baseball used in that game is in the baseball Hall of Fame collection and is inscribed: "Last ball used in game at Navin Field in last game of season, 1918, caught by Davy Jones. Hit by Jack Collins of Chicago White Sox. Season ending on Labor Day on account of War." The circumstances of the play in which the ball was involved went unrecognized in the official statistical record for more than 85 years.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "David Jefferson Jones Entry". Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/j/jonesda01.shtml. 
  2. ^ TIDBITS OF SPORTING NEWS. The Fort Wayne Sentinel. September 30, 1910. pg. 8
  3. ^ "David Jefferson Jones Fielding Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/j/jonesda01.shtml. 
  4. ^ Ritter, Lawrence (1984). The Glory Of Their Times. Morrow Publishing. pp. 34–46. ISBN 0-688-11273-0. 
  5. ^ "SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: THE LAST BALL CAUGHT BEFORE WORLD WAR I". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. 2007-02-18. http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070218&content_id=576&vkey=hof_news. 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Davy Jones — may refer to: People Davy Jones (actor) (born 1945), English actor and singer, formerly of the band The Monkees Davy Jones (racing driver) (born 1964), American Davy Jones (baseball) (1880–1972), American baseball player Davy Jones or Davie Jones …   Wikipedia

  • Davy Jones —  Cette page d’homonymie répertorie différentes personnes partageant un même nom. Pour les articles homonymes, voir Jones. Davy Jones (1945 ), acteur et chanteur britannique, membre du groupe pop rock The Monkees dans les années 1960 Davy… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jones (Familienname) — Jones ist ein englischer Familienname. Herkunft und Bedeutung Der patronymische Name bedeutet „Sohn des John“ (englisch) oder „Sohn des Ioan“ (walisisch). Varianten Johns Johnson, Jonson Bekannte Namensträger Inhaltsverzeichnis A …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jones — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Jones est un nom de famille les plus courants dans le monde anglophone. Sommaire 1 Étymologie 2 Personnalités …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Baseball en 1880 — 1880 en baseball Années : 1877 1878 1879  1880  1881 1882 1883 Décennies : 1850 1860 1870  1880  1890 1900 1910 Siècles : XVIIIe siècle & …   Wikipédia en Français

  • List of people with surname Jones — Jones is a surname common in the English speaking world. This list provides links to biographies of people who share this common surname.Arts and entertainmentArchitecture*Inigo Jones (1573 1652), English architect of Welsh descentActing*Bruce… …   Wikipedia

  • List of baseball nicknames — Baseball nicknames have become an integral part of the sport s culture: In no sport are nicknames more pervasive than baseball. [1] This is a list of nicknames of Major League Baseball teams and players. It includes a complete list of nicknames… …   Wikipedia

  • 1972 Major League Baseball season — The 1972 Major League Baseball season was held between the American and National Leagues.Labor strife and more moving1972 was tainted by a players strike over pension and salary arbitration. The strike erased the first week and a half of the… …   Wikipedia

  • 1972 in baseball — Year in baseball this year = 1972 Labor strife and more moving1972 was tainted by a players strike over pension and salary arbitration. The strike erased the first week and a half of the season, and the Leagues decided to just excise the lost… …   Wikipedia

  • 1880 in baseball — Year in baseball this year = 1880 Champions*National League: Chicago White StockingsNational League final standingstatistical leadersNotable seasonsEventsJanuary March*February 5 The Worcester Ruby Legs are admitted to the National League. *March …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”