Max Bishop

Max Bishop
Second baseman
Born: September 5, 1899(1899-09-05) Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
Died: February 24, 1962(1962-02-24) (aged 62) Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
Batted: Left	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 15, 1924 for the Philadelphia Athletics
Last MLB appearance
September 21, 1935 for the Boston Red Sox
Career statistics
Batting average	.271
Home runs	41
Runs batted in	379
Teams
Philadelphia Athletics (1924-33) Boston Red Sox (1934-35)

Max Frederick Bishop (September 5, 1899 – February 24, 1962) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1924 through 1935 for the Philadelphia Athletics (1924-1933) and Boston Red Sox (1934-1935). Bishop batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was born in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania.

In a 12-season career, Bishop was a .271 hitter with 41 home runs and 379 RBI in 1338 games played.

Bishop was the leadoff hitter for the last three American League pennant-winning Philadelphia Athletics teams of Connie Mack. Nicknamed "Tilly" or "Camera Eye" for his notable ability to judge pitches, Bishop was adept at working counts and drawing walks, as evidenced by his .423 career on base percentage, in front of Athletics sluggers Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane and Jimmie Foxx. Eight times he collected 100 walks, leading the AL with 128 in 1929^[1]; twice walked eight times in a doubleheader, to set a major league record; twice draw five walks in a single game, to become the only major leaguer to do this twice and recorded a 2.55 walk-to-strikeout ratio (1153-to-452), as his walk percentage of .204 is only surpassed by Ted Williams's .207. He also scored 100 or more runs during four consecutive seasons (1928-1931), with a career-high 117 in 1930. Rated as one of the best fielders in the game, Bishop led AL second basemen four times in fielding percentage and played 18 World Series games without committing an error. When Bishop scored 117 runs in 1930, he became the only man in major league history to score at least 70 runs while collecting more runs than hits.

When Mack dismantled the Athletics in 1933, he sent Bishop, Lefty Grove and Rube Walberg to the Boston Red Sox for two players and $150.000. After two years in Boston, Bishop ended his playing career in 1936 with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League and then scouted for the Detroit Tigers in 1937.

Post-baseball career

After that, he served as baseball head coach at the U.S. Naval Academy between 1938 and 1962. During his 25 years as Navy Midshipmen coach, he posted a 306-143 record, including an academy seasonal record of 24 victories and two defeats in 1961.

Death

Bishop died in his home of Waynesboro at age 62.

Honors and awards

The baseball stadium at the Naval Academy is named for Bishop.^[2]

Footnotes

1. ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bishoma01.shtml
2. ^ See Navy Midshipmen#Facilities (at "Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium").

Sources

• Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society
• Baseball Library
• Baseball Reference
• BR Bullpen
• Retrosheet
• The Deadball Era

Persondata
Name	Bishop, Max
Alternative names	Bishop, Max Frederick
Short description	Baseball player and coach
Date of birth	September 5, 1899
Place of birth	Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
Date of death	February 24, 1962
Place of death	Waynesboro, Pennsylvania