American baseball player (1871?1952)
Baseball player
Fred Tenney
|
---|
|
First baseman
/
Manager
|
Born:
(
1871-11-26
)
November 26, 1871
Georgetown, Massachusetts
, U.S.
|
Died:
July 3, 1952
(1952-07-03)
(aged 80)
Boston, Massachusetts
, U.S.
|
|
|
June 16, 1894, for the Boston Beaneaters
|
|
October 7, 1911, for the Boston Rustlers
|
|
Batting average
| .294
|
---|
Hits
| 2,231
|
---|
Home runs
| 22
|
---|
Runs batted in
| 688
|
---|
Managerial record
| 202?402
|
---|
Winning %
| .334
|
---|
|
---|
|
As player
As manager
|
Frederick Tenney
(November 26, 1871 ? July 3, 1952) was an American
professional baseball
player whose career spanned 20 seasons, 17 of which were spent with the
Major League Baseball
(MLB)
Boston Beaneaters/Doves/Rustlers
(1894?1907, 1911) and the
New York Giants
(1908?1909). Described as "one of the best defensive first basemen of all time", Tenney is credited with originating the 3-6-3
double play
and originating the style of playing off the first base
foul line
and deep, as modern first basemen do.
[1]
[2]
Over his career, Tenney compiled a
batting average
of .294, 1,278
runs scored
, 2,231
hits
, 22
home runs
, and 688
runs batted in
(RBI) in 1,994
games played
.
Born in
Georgetown, Massachusetts
, Tenney was one of the first players to enter the league after graduating college, where he served as a left-handed catcher for
Brown University
. Signing with the Beaneaters, Tenney spent the next 14 seasons with the team, including a three-year managerial stint from 1905 to 1907. In December 1907 Tenney was traded to the Giants as a part of an eight-man deal; after two years playing for New York, he re-signed with the Boston club, where he played for and managed the team in 1911. After retiring from baseball, Tenney worked for the
Equitable Life Insurance Society
before his death in Boston on July 3, 1952.
Early life
[
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]
Tenney was born in Georgetown, Massachusetts, the third of five children to Charles William and Sarah Lambert (nee DeBacon) Tenney.
[3]
Charles Tenney attended
Dummer Academy
from 1850 to 1853, and served for the
50th Massachusetts Regiment
in the
Civil War
, where he nearly died due to "intense suffering".
[3]
Growing up, Fred led his class in drawing and sketching.
[4]
He reportedly started playing baseball around 1880.
[5]
Career
[
edit
]
Brown University
[
edit
]
In 1892, Tenney played his first professional game for the
Binghamton Bingos
of the
Eastern League
, going 1 for 4 with a
single
.
[6]
He played as Brown University's catcher for the 1893 and 1894 seasons. In 1894, the team had a 23?8 record and were selected as national champions by
Harper's Weekly
.
[7]
The night of his senior dinner, Tenney received a telephone message from
Frank Selee
, the manager of the Beaneaters, asking him to play a game for the team at catcher, due to the injuries of other players.
[7]
[8]
Boston
[
edit
]
In his MLB debut on June 16, 1894, Tenney had to be removed from the game in the fifth inning due to a
fractured finger
on his throwing hand from a foul tip. After Tenney had his finger addressed, James Billings, an owner of the Beaneaters, offered him a contract worth US$300 a month from that day.
[9]
Tenney, later writing about the day, stated:
I thought they were trying to have a little joke with me, and I concluded that I could do a little kidding myself. So I thought I would call their bluff by asking for some advance money. I screwed up my courage and asked Mr. Billings whether, if I signed the contract at once, I could get some advance money. He asked how much I wanted, and I thought I would mention a big sum in order to call their bluff good and strong. So I said $150. He consulted with Mr. Conant, another Director, and said that I could have the money all right, and asked me how I would like to have it? cash or check. [...] I replied that I would take half cash and then half in check, and immediately he wrote out a check for $75, counted out $75 in cash, shoved the contract over to me to sign, laying the cash and check beside it.
He returned to the team a month later, and finished the year batting .395 in 27 games.
[8]
The following season, Tenney moved to the outfield due to an erratic throwing arm behind the plate, according to manager Selee.
[8]
For the season, he hit .272 in 49 games, while also playing
minor league baseball
for the New Bedford Whalers. In 1896, Tenney again caught and played outfield; offensively, however, Tenney hit .336 in nearly double the games from the previous year (88) despite playing in the minors for the Springfield Ponies.
[10]
In 1897, Tenney moved to first base to replace the aging
Tom Tucker
. According to
Alfred Henry Spink
, within two weeks of the move it was evident that Tenney had become "one of the finest first sackers that the game [had] ever seen."
[11]
On June 14, 1897, in a game against the
Cincinnati Reds
, Tenney turned the first 3-6-3 double play in MLB history.
[12]
Offensively, Tenney led MLB in
plate appearances
(646) and tied
Duff Cooley
,
Gene DeMontreville
, and
George Van Haltren
for the lead in
at bats
(566) as the Boston club became
National League
(NL) champions with a 93?39 record.
[13]
[14]
Boston again won the NL in 1898 while Tenney hit .328 with 62 RBIs. In 1899 he collected 209 hits, fifth most in MLB, and recorded 17
triples
, good for fourth best in MLB.
[15]
In 1900 Tenney, at age 28, batted .279 over 112 games played.
[16]
He began a streak of seven consecutive seasons where he led the NL in
assists
in 1901; he holds the record for most seasons leading a league in assists, with eight, including one in 1899.
[1]
He was suspended for ten games for fighting
Pittsburgh Pirates
manager
Fred Clarke
in May 1902,
[8]
[17]
and finished the 1902 season with the second most
sacrifice hits
(29) in the majors, to go along with a .315 average.
[10]
[18]
Throughout the 1901?1902 seasons, Tenney received contract offers worth up to $7,000 ($206,248 in 2017) from St. Louis, Cleveland, and Detroit;
[8]
Tenney, however, decided to remain in Boston, and was named captain of the club in 1903.
[1]
For the season, he hit .313, with 41 RBIs and three home runs, as he led his team in
walks
(70) and had the best
on-base percentage
mark (.415) on the squad.
[19]
In 1904, Tenney again led his team in walks and on-base percentage, as he tied for the team lead in runs with
Ed Abbaticchio
.
[20]
He was named manager of the team in 1905, but did not receive additional pay; he was, however, offered a bonus if the team didn't lose money.
[8]
In 1905, Tenney tried to sign
William Clarence Matthews
, an African-American middle infielder from
Harvard University
, to a contract. Tenney later retracted his offer due to pressure from MLB players.
[21]
Defensively, he led the majors in
errors
committed by a first baseman and finished second in most
putouts
for any position.
[22]
Tenney led the 1906 Beaneaters to a 49?102 record. For the second straight year, the Boston team lost more than 100 games.
[23]
After a 158?295 record as manager, on December 3, 1907, Tenney was traded to the Giants, along with
Al Bridwell
and
Tom Needham
, for
Frank Bowerman
,
George Browne
,
Bill Dahlen
,
Cecil Ferguson
and
Dan McGann
;
[10]
the trade was called "one of the biggest deals in the history of National League baseball".
[24]
New York Giants
[
edit
]
In his first season with the Giants, Tenney led MLB with 684 plate appearances and finished third in runs scored, with 101.
[25]
In a game against the
Chicago Cubs
on September 23, Tenney could not play due to an attack of
lumbago
; it was the only game he did not play in during the season.
[26]
Rookie
Fred Merkle
took his spot at first base. The game was at a 1?1 tie in the bottom of the ninth. Merkle, after hitting a single, was at first, and
Moose McCormick
was at third, with two outs.
Al Bridwell
singled to
center field
, but
Hank O'Day
called Merkle out because Merkle had not touched second base.
[26]
O'Day ruled the game a 1?1 tie due to darkness.
[26]
With both teams finishing the season at a 98?55 record, a replay game had to be played to determine who would win the National League pennant. The game was held on October 8, with the Cubs winning, 4?2.
[26]
After batting a career low .235 in 1909, Tenney was released by the Giants.
[8]
[27]
He spent the 1910 season as a player?manager for the minor league
Lowell Tigers
, leading the team to a 65?57 record, good for fourth (out of eight teams) in the
New England League
.
[28]
Return to Boston
[
edit
]
On December 19, 1910, Tenney signed a two-year contract with the Boston Rustlers. For the 1911 season, Tenney hit .263 over 102 games.
[10]
He was released by the Braves on March 20, 1912, after 44?107 record in one season; Tenney was paid not to manage for the second year on his contract.
[8]
In 1916, he bought the
Newark Indians
of the
International League
with
James R. Price
for $25,000 ($527,450 in 2012).
[29]
[30]
Mayor
Thomas Lynch Raymond
declared April 27 a "half-holiday" for the city of
Newark
for the Indians'
Opening Day
.
[31]
Tenney played in 16 games for the Indians, hitting .318 with seven hits over 22 at-bats, and managed the team to a 52?87 record.
[32]
[33]
Personal life and death
[
edit
]
Tenney married a Georgetown girl, Bessie Farnham Berry, on October 21, 1895. The couple had two children together; Barbara, born July 4, 1899, and Ruth, born December 8, 1901.
[3]
Early in his career, he refused to play baseball on Sundays due to his religion,
[3]
although he later changed his mind.
[34]
Tenney was known as the "Soiled Collegian" at the major league level because it was unpopular for college players to become professional.
[35]
Tenney served as a journalist for
The Boston Post
,
Baseball Magazine
, and
The New York Times
.
[8]
He painted and sketched during the winter.
[4]
After retiring from baseball, Tenney worked for the Equitable Life Insurance Society and continued writing for
The New York Times
. In 1912, he was vice-president of the Usher?Stoughton shoe manufacturing company in
Lynn, Massachusetts
; later, he formed the Tenney?Spinney Shoe Company in partnership with Henry Spinney.
[36]
[37]
He was balloted for the
National Baseball Hall of Fame
from 1936 to 1942 and again in 1946, but never received more than eight votes, receiving eight (3.1% of total ballots cast) during the
Baseball Hall of Fame balloting in 1938
.
[10]
Tenney died on July 3, 1952, at
Massachusetts General Hospital
after a long illness.
[8]
[35]
He was interred at
Harmony Chapel and Cemetery
in Georgetown.
[10]
In 2023, Tenney was posthumously inducted into the
Braves Hall of Fame
, alongside
Rico Carty
.
[38]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Caruso, Gary (1995).
Braves Encyclopedia
. Temple University Press. pp.
30
, 245.
ISBN
978-1-56639-384-3
.
- ^
Porter, David L. G. (2000).
Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: Q?Z
. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 1528.
ISBN
978-0-313-31176-5
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Tenney, Jonathan; Tenney, Martha Jane (1904).
The Tenney family, or, The descendants of Thomas Tenney of Rowley, Massachusetts, 1638?1904
. Rumford Press. pp.
539
?540, 613?614.
- ^
a
b
"Fred Tenney is an Artist; The Famous ball player is a Clever Painter and Sketcher"
.
The Pittsburg Press
. March 31, 1905
. Retrieved
May 22,
2012
.
- ^
Hern, Gary (1951).
"Tenney, Edison of the First Sack"
.
Baseball Digest
.
10
(3). Lakeside Publishing Company: 43?45.
- ^
"1892 Binghamton Bingos"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
May 19,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
Harris, Rick (2012).
Brown University Baseball: A Legacy of the Game
. The History Press. pp. 66?69.
ISBN
978-1-60949-501-5
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
Sternman, Mark.
"Fred Tenney"
. The Society for American Baseball Research
. Retrieved
May 19,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
Tenney, Fred (March 21, 1910).
"How Tenney Broke into Baseball; Thought Boston Managers Were Joking When They Offered Him Money to Play"
(PDF)
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
May 19,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"Fred Tenney"
.
Baseball-Reference
. Retrieved
May 19,
2012
.
- ^
Spink, Alfred Henry (1911).
The National Game
. Southern Illinois University Press. p. 187.
ISBN
978-0-8093-2304-3
.
- ^
Morris, Peter (2010).
A Game of Inches: The Stories Behind the Innovations That Shaped Baseball
. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 176.
ISBN
978-1-56663-853-1
.
- ^
"1897 Major League Baseball Batting Leaders"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
May 19,
2012
.
- ^
"1897 Boston Beaneaters"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
May 19,
2012
.
- ^
"1899 Major League Baseball Batting Leaders"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
May 20,
2012
.
- ^
"1900 Boston Beaneaters"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
July 1,
2012
.
- ^
"Players Punished"
(PDF)
.
Sporting Life
.
39
(10): 1. May 24, 1902. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on January 15, 2011
. Retrieved
May 20,
2012
.
- ^
"1902 Major League Baseball Batting Leaders"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
May 20,
2012
.
- ^
"1903 Boston Beaneaters"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
May 21,
2012
.
- ^
"1904 Boston Beaneaters"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
July 1,
2012
.
- ^
Tierney, John P. (2008).
Jack Coombs: A Life in Baseball
. McFarland. p. 19.
ISBN
978-0-7864-3959-1
.
- ^
"1905 Major League Baseball Fielding Leaders"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
July 1,
2012
.
- ^
"Atlanta Braves Team History and Encyclopedia"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
July 1,
2012
.
- ^
Fleming, Gordon H. (2006).
The Unforgettable Season
. University of Nebraska Press. p. 7.
ISBN
978-0-8032-6922-4
.
- ^
"1908 Major League Baseball Batting Leaders"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
May 25,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Girsch, George (1958).
"Was it really Bonehead Merkle? or Bonehead O'Day?"
.
Baseball Digest
.
17
(9). Lakeside Publishing Company: 41?48.
- ^
"Fred Tenney Handed his Unconditional Release"
.
The Sunday Tribune
. May 10, 1910
. Retrieved
May 25,
2012
.
- ^
"New Bedford Wins Pennant"
(PDF)
.
The New York Times
. September 11, 1910
. Retrieved
June 13,
2012
.
- ^
Chadwick, Henry; Foster, John Buckingham; White, Charles D. (1916).
Spalding's official base ball record
. American Sports Publishing Co. p. 5.
- ^
"Jersey City Club Sold: James R. Price and Fred Tenney Buy International Franchise"
(PDF)
.
The New York Times
. February 19, 1916
. Retrieved
June 30,
2012
.
- ^
"Tenney's Men Start Today: Mayor of Newark Declares Half-Holiday for Opening"
(PDF)
.
The New York Times
. April 27, 1916
. Retrieved
June 30,
2012
.
- ^
"1916 Newark Indians"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
June 30,
2012
.
- ^
Wright, Marshall D. (1998).
The International League: year-by-year statistics, 1884?1953
. McFarland. p. 197.
ISBN
978-0-7864-0458-2
.
- ^
"Tenney to play Sunday ball"
.
The Pittsburgh Press
. December 23, 1906
. Retrieved
May 22,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
"Fred Tenney, Creater of 6-3-6 Double Play, Taken by Death"
.
Lewiston Morning Tribune
. July 4, 1952
. Retrieved
May 24,
2012
.
- ^
"Fred Tenney in Shoe Business"
(PDF)
.
The New York Times
. June 1, 1912
. Retrieved
June 20,
2012
.
- ^
American shoemaking, Volume 51
. Mcleish Communications. 1914. p. 595.
- ^
Bowman, Mark (August 18, 2023).
"Carty, Tenney to enter Braves Hall of Fame"
. MLB.com
. Retrieved
August 20,
2023
.
External links
[
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]