Lip Pike – it.wikitechguide.com

Major League Baseball player, manager

Lipman Emanuel “Lip” Pike (May 25, 1845 – October 10, 1893) the “Iron batter“, was an American who was one of the 19th century baseball stars in the United States. His brother, Israel Pike, briefly played for Hartford Dark Blues during the 1877 season.

Pike was one of the best players of his day. He was a great slugger and one of the best home run hitters, so much so that the stories about the balls he hit were told for quite some time after he stopped playing.

Early years and personal life

Pike was Jewish and was born in New York into a Dutch Jewish family and grew up in Brooklyn. His father Emanuel was a merchant. His mother was Jane, his brothers were Boaz, Israel and Jacob, and he had a sister Julia. His family moved to Brooklyn when he was very young.

Baseball career

Pike started in baseball at the age of 13. Pike first became famous playing for the Philadelphia Athletics (1860-1876), which he joined in 1866. He brought an impressive blend of power and speed to the team, also hitting many home runs as one of the fastest players in circulation. On one occasion he scored five home runs in one game.

However, it was soon uncovered that he and two other Philadelphia players were being given $ 20 ($ 350 in current dollar terms) a week to play. Since all baseball players were ostensibly amateurs (although many, like Pike, accepted money under the table), a hearing was organized by the sport’s governing body, the National Association of Base Ball Players. Eventually, no one showed up at the hearing and the matter was dropped. In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Socks became the first openly professional team, and Pike’s hearing, however farcical, paved the way for Harry Wright’s professionalization of baseball. Track and field was very successful, but Pike was excluded from the team in 1867, because he was from New York, and therefore a “foreigner”, questioning his loyalty.

He moved to Irvington, a New Jersey club and later in 1867 to the New York Mutuals, also a prominent team, where he returned for 1868, having caught Boss Tweed’s attention. In 1869 he moved to the Brooklyn Atlantics, another perennial leader, where he hit .610. In 1870, Atlantics, with Pike as second baseman, ended Cincinnati’s streak of 93 straight wins.

National Association

In 1871, the National Association was formed as the first professional baseball league and Pike joined the Troy Haymakers for his inaugural season. He was their star and for 4 games he was the captain and coach, beating .377 (6th best in the league) and making 4 home runs as championship leader. He also led the championship in extra base hits (21), and was 2nd in hit rate (.654) and doubles (10), 4th in RBI (39), 5th in triples (7), 6 ° in percentage based (.400), 9 ° in shots (49) and 10 ° in series (43). However, the Haymakers only finished in 6th place and the team captain moved on to Bill Craver.

The Haymakers renewed their roster for the 1872 season and Pike headed to Baltimore, where he played for the Baltimore Canaries. Pike had another excellent season, again leading the league in home runs (with 6), RBI (60) and matches (56), and finishing 2nd in total bases (127) and extra base hits (26), 3rd in bats (288), 5th in double (15) and triple (5), 9th in hit rate (.441) and stolen bases (8) and 10th in hits (84).

In 1873, Pike led the championship in home runs for a third consecutive season, reaching 4, and was 2nd in triples (8), 4th overall bases (132), stolen bases (8) and extra base hits (26), 7th in the percentage of slugging (0.462), 8th in doubles (14), RBI (50) and to bats (286), 9th in strokes (90) and 10th in games (56).

Pike was also one of the fastest players in the league. From time to time he competed with any challenger for a cash prize, regularly coming out as the winner. On August 16, 1873, he ran a fast trot named “Clarence” in a 100-yard sprint at Newington Park in Baltimore, and won by four yards with a time of 10 seconds flat, earning $ 250 ($ 5,300 today).

Baltimore went bankrupt after the season, so Pike headed for the captain of the Hartford Dark Blues for the 1874 season. The Dark Blues were a poor team, but Pike had another good season, pulling .574 to lead the championship, and finishing 2nd with a base percentage of .368.

Pike dropped out of the weak Hartford side after just one season, moving to the St. Louis Brown Stockings. For the first time in his professional career, Pike was unable to hit a home run, although he stole 25 bases. He also scored 12 triples and 22 doubles (leading the league) in what was arguably his best offensive season yet.

In all, Lip Pike has the National Association career home run (15) and extra base records (135).

National League

In 1876, when the National League replaced the National Association, Pike stayed with St. Louis. The Brown Stockings went into a very good season, finishing a solid 2nd place at the Chicago White Stockings. Pike continued to produce offensively, scoring 133 total bases (5th in the league) and 34 extra-base hits (2nd).

Seemingly never content with staying with a team very long, Pike headed to the Cincinnati Reds for the 1877 season. The Reds finished last. Pike was still a high-quality player, leading the league in home runs for the fourth time in the 1870s. However, age was starting to reach 32-year-old Pike. He started the season as the eighth oldest player in the league and was the fourth oldest player of the 1878 season. The 1878 Reds played very well, though. They finished 2nd, but Pike was replaced by Buttercup Dickerson mid-season and forced to look for a team elsewhere. He ended up playing a few games for the Providence Grays and spent the next two years playing for the minor league teams.

Sports life he later named him an outfielder on his 1870–80 All-Star team.

Pike received a brief call in 1881 to play for the Worcester Ruby Legs, but 36-year-old Pike could no longer play effectively, hitting .111 and not managing a single extra base hit in 18 at-bats over 5 games. His game was so poor it aroused suspicion, and Pike found himself banned from the National League in September. He was added to the National League blacklist in 1881. He devoted himself to haberdashery, his father’s calling, and spent another 6 years playing only amateur baseball. He was reinstated in 1883.

American Association

In 1887, the New York Metropolitans of the American Association gave Pike another chance. At 42, he was the oldest baseball player. The only game he played was more of an expulsion than a fresh start, though, and Pike is back at his haberdashery once more.

Death

Pike died suddenly of heart disease at the age of 48 in 1893. Il Brooklyn Eagle reported that “Many wealthy Jews and tall men in old-time political and baseball circles attended the funeral service.” He was buried in the Salem Fields Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

Legacy

In 1936, decades after his death, Pike received an election vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Pike was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.

Pike was inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame – Class of 2016

Pike was the first Jewish manager in major league history and one of only seven of all time. The others were Gabe Kapler, Bob Melvin, Brad Ausmus, Jeff Newman, Norm Sherry and Lou Boudreau.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball’s annual home run leaders
• List of annual Major League Baseball runs beaten in leaders
• List of leaders of the annual Major League Baseball double
• Major League Baseball Title Leader
• Jews and Baseball: An American Love StoryDocumentary 2010
• List of Major League Baseball players-managers
• List of selected Jewish baseball players

References

Further reading

External Link