John Humphries (baseball) explained

John Humphries
Position:Catcher/Outfielder
Birth Date:12 November 1861
Birth Place:North Gower, Canada West
Death Place:Salinas, California
Bats:Left
Throws:Left
Debutleague:MLB
Debutdate:July 2
Debutyear:1883
Debutteam:New York Gothams
Finalleague:MLB
Finaldate:August 1
Finalyear:1884
Finalteam:Washington Nationals
Statleague:MLB
Stat1label:Batting average
Stat1value:.143
Stat2label:Hits
Stat2value:52
Stat3label:Runs batted in
Stat3value:6
Teams:

John Henry Humphries (12 November 1861  -) was a Major League Baseball player who played for the New York Gothams and the Washington Nationals. Despite being left-handed, Humphries played catcher, a position dominated by right-handed players. He also played outfield and first base. Humphries was the father of the poet Rolfe Humphries, who mentioned him in his poem "Polo Grounds."

Amateur career

College

Humphries attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He was the first player from Cornell to play in Major League Baseball.[1]

Professional career

New York Gothams

At the age of 21, Humphries began his professional career with the New York Gothams. In his first season,, Humphries hit .112 with 12 hits, one double and four RBIs in 29 games.

In Humphries batted only .094 with six hits and two RBIs in 20 games. In his two seasons with the Gothams, Humphries batted .105 with 18 hits, one double and six runs batted in and played in 49 games.

Washington Nationals

Humphries also played for the Washington Nationals in 1884. In 49 games with the Nationals he batted .176 with 23 runs, 34 hits, two doubles and nine walks.

He would continue to play baseball in Minor League Baseball for three seasons after playing for the Nationals. Humphries would also manage two teams in the Minors. The first was the Rochester Flour Cities in and the second was the Syracuse Stars in .

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.baseball-reference.com/schools/cornell.shtml Cornell University Big Red MLB Players