George Robert Stone, nicknamed Silent George,[1] (September 3, 1876 – January 3, 1945) was a left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox (1903) and St. Louis Browns (1905–10). Stone batted and threw left-handed. He was the 1906 American League batting champion.
| George Stone | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Left fielder | |
| Born: September 3, 1876 Lost Nation, Iowa, U.S. | |
| Died: January 3, 1945 (aged 68) Clinton, Iowa, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 20, 1903, for the Boston Americans | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 9, 1910, for the St. Louis Browns | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .301 |
| Home runs | 23 |
| Runs batted in | 268 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Early life edit
Stone was born in Lost Nation, Iowa,[2] to George and Hannah Stone and was Jewish.[3][4][5][6][1][7][8] Prior to playing baseball, he had a career in banking in Nebraska.[9][2] A 1906 article on him noted that his taste ran to reading, and his hobby was violin playing.[2]
Baseball career edit
He left his career in banking in 1901 at the age of 24 to join the Omaha Omahogs of the Western League.[9] In 1902 he played for the Omahogs and the Peoria Distillers and led the league with 198 hits, and the next year he again played for the Omahogs.[10][2]
He made his major league debut in 1903 at the age of 26 with the Boston Americans.[11] He played most of 1903 for the Milwaukee Creams of the Western League.[10] In 1903 with the Creams he was third in the Western League in home runs (4).[12][13]
In 1904 with the Milwaukee Brewers he led the American Association in batting with a .406 batting average (which remained the league record until the league closed down in 1997), in slugging with a .558 average, and in hits (254), as he was second in the league in triples (19).[12][2]
In December 1904 he was traded by the Boston Americans to the St. Louis Browns for Jesse Burkett and cash.[11] In 1905 he led the American League in hits (187) and total bases (259), and was second in home runs (7).[11][2]
In 1906, he batted .358 and won the American League batting championship (beating four-time batting champion Napoleon Lajoie), and also led the league in slugging (.501) and in on-base percentage (.417), as he was second in the league in hits (208; behind Lajoie) and triples (20; behind Elmer Flick), and third in home runs (6).[4] In 1907 he batted .320.[4][1][11][2]
In 1907 he was second in the AL in on-base percentage (.387) and hits (191; behind Ty Cobb), and third in the league in batting after hitting .320 (behind Cobb and Sam Crawford).[11] In 1908, he was third in the American League in home runs (5).[11] He played his last game in 1910.[11]
In a seven-season major league career, Stone posted a .301 batting average (984-for-3271) with 23 home runs and 268 RBIs in 848 games played.[11]
He is the only player who won the American League batting title in the years from 1901 through 1928, who was not made a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.[2]
Later life edit
Stone entered the banking industry in Coleridge, Nebraska, and owned a Western League team in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1916.[2] In 1940, he and his wife Pearl moved to Clinton, Iowa.[2] Stone died of a heart attack in Clinton at the age of 68. The burial was at Coleridge Cemetery, in Coleridge, Nebraska.[14][2]
In 1970 he was inducted into The Des Moines Register's Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c Peter Levine (1993). Ellis Island to Ebbets Field: Sport and the American Jewish Experience. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195085556. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "George Stone," Society for American Baseball Research website
- ^ Rita James Simon (1997). In the Golden Land: A Century of Russian and Soviet Jewish Immigration in ... VNR AG. ISBN 9780275957315. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- ^ a b c Peter S. Horvitz (April 2007). The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes: An Illustrated Compendium of Sports ... SP Books. ISBN 9781561719075. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- ^ Benjamin Blech (1999). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Jewish History and Culture. Penguin. ISBN 9780786542796. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- ^ Rita James Simon (1997). In the Golden Land: A Century of Russian and Soviet Jewish Immigration in ... VNR AG. ISBN 9780275957315. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- ^ Hall, Alvin L. (January 1, 1991). Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and the American Culture. Meckler. ISBN 9780887367359. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- ^ "The Greatest Jewish Baseball Players of All Time, by Position". Tablet Magazine. July 29, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- ^ a b Bill James (May 11, 2010). The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781439106938. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- ^ a b "George Stone Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "George Stone Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- ^ a b "1904 American Association Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- ^ "George Stone Minor Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com".
- ^ "George Stone". BASEBALL-Reference. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
External links edit
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- "Legends of the Game: George Stone"
- "Lost Nation's Stone into "Hall" – Iowan's Batting Feat: Beat Cobb", 4/5/70
- "An Additional Game-Played Found for George Stone of the St. Louis Browns", SABR Baseball Records Committee Newsletter, 2/13/07