American baseball player, coach, and manager (1886-1968)
Baseball player
Lena Blackburne
|
---|
|
Infielder
/
Coach
/
Manager
|
Born:
(
1886-10-23
)
October 23, 1886
Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania
, U.S.
|
Died:
February 29, 1968
(1968-02-29)
(aged 81)
Riverside Township, New Jersey
, U.S.
|
Batted:
Right
Threw:
Right
|
|
April 14, 1910, for the Chicago White Sox
|
|
June 5, 1929, for the Chicago White Sox
|
|
Batting average
| .214
|
---|
Home runs
| 4
|
---|
Runs batted in
| 139
|
---|
Games managed
| 232
|
---|
Managerial record
| 99?133
|
---|
Winning %
| .427
|
---|
|
---|
|
As player
As coach
As manager
|
Russell Aubrey "Lena" Blackburne
(October 23, 1886 ? February 29, 1968) was an American
baseball
infielder
,
manager
,
coach
, and
scout
in
Major League Baseball
(MLB). He is best known for the creation of his
baseball rubbing mud
, used to remove the finish on new baseballs and give better grip and control to the pitcher.
Career
[
edit
]
Between 1910 and 1929, Blackburne played for the
Chicago White Sox
(1910, 1912, 1914?1915, 1927, 1929),
Cincinnati Reds
(1918),
Boston Braves
(1919) and
Philadelphia Phillies
(1919). He batted and threw right-handed. Following his playing career, Blackburne managed the White Sox (1928?29) and coached for the White Sox (1927?28),
St. Louis Browns
(1930) and
Philadelphia Athletics
(1933?38; 1940?45; 1947?48).
[1]
Blackburne was a native of
Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania
, and moved to
Palmyra, New Jersey
with his family at a very young age. While living in Palmyra, as a youth, Blackburne played football for the Palmyra Field Club in 1906.
Blackburne broke into the majors with the White Sox in 1910, appearing in part of five seasons, and split the 1919 season with the Braves and Phillies. In an eight-season playing career, Blackburne was a
.214 hitter
with four
home runs
and 139
runs batted in
in 550
games played
. As a fielder, he appeared in 539 games at
shortstop
(213),
third base
(180) and
second
(144) and
first
(2), and also
relieved
in one game.
In 1933, he went on to become a coach with the Philadelphia Athletics of
Connie Mack
. Blackburne stayed with the Athletics as a scout when the club moved to
Kansas City
. As a manager in the major leagues, he posted a 99?133 record for a .427
winning percentage
. He managed the
Toronto Maple Leafs
of the
International League
for parts of three seasons: 1916, 1921, and 1932. In each case he was hired as a mid-season replacement.
Blackburne died in
Riverside Township, New Jersey
at age 81, and is buried in Morgan Cemetery on the outskirts of Palmyra, not far from where he lived on Henry and Cinnaminson Avenues.
Managerial record
[
edit
]
Team
|
Year
|
Regular season
|
Postseason
|
Games
|
Won
|
Lost
|
Win %
|
Finish
|
Won
|
Lost
|
Win %
|
Result
|
CWS
|
1928
|
80
|
40
|
40
|
.500
|
5th in AL
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
CWS
|
1929
|
152
|
59
|
93
|
.388
|
7th in AL
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
Total
|
232
|
99
|
133
|
.427
|
|
0
|
0
|
?
|
|
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]