Wood's career in organized baseball began as early as 1860 when he began play for the Eckford of Brooklyn (also known as the Brooklyn Eckfords), with whom he played for nine seasons (1860–1869) during the following decade. For the 1871 season, he took the position of player-manager for the Chicago White Stockings, for a salary of $2,000 per year.[2] The White Stockings eventually were renamed the Chicago Cubs, so Wood is considered the first player signed by the Cubs, their first star, and their first manager. It was with the White Stockings that he is credited for inventing the program of spring training when he moved his team down to New Orleans, Louisiana prior to the upcoming season to train in warmer weather.[3] With Chicago having signed Wood, who had helped the Eckfords win two championships in 1862 and 1863, other star players followed, allowing Chicago to put a good team on the field in 1871.[4]
For the 1871 season, the team became a charter member of the newly organized NAPBBP – the National Association. In late September, the Chicago team was tied with the Philadelphia Athletics for first place, with games scheduled through late October, and Chicago fans were looking forward to their first pennant. However, the Great Chicago Fire burned down most of the city on Oct. 8 and 9. One of the buildings burned was the team’s ballpark. The team finished the season on the road, with mismatched uniforms as the team’s regular apparel also had been consumed by the fire. With their homes and possessions gone and having had few opportunities for practice, and despite Wood tallying a .378 batting average, the team finished in third place — but only two games behind the first-place A’s. With the White Stockings not taking the field in 1872, Wood moved on to manage two other short term ill-fated teams; the Troy Haymakers and his old Eckford team.[4] The next season, 1873, he managed the Philadelphia White Stockings for a year until he was able to reorganize a new Chicago team[1][2]
In 1874, he tried to lance an abscess on his left leg with a pocketknife. He accidentally dropped the blade on his right leg and cut it. This caused an infection which led to an eventual amputation of the right leg. This did not end his managerial career, though; he returned to the Chicago White Stockings, and managed them for two seasons before the National Association folded in 1875. In 1876, Wood became one of the new National League's first umpires.[5] After retiring from professional baseball and moved to Florida and began investing in citrus interests. His daughter, Carrie, married William Chase Temple, who was at one time, the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was he who the Temple Cup was named after. Wood's granddaughter, Dorothy Temple, married pitcher Del Mason. Wood's whereabouts had been debated for years until recently.[5] In 1885, he operated a sporting goods store in Chicago.[2] He was traced all over the United States and Canada and eventually wound up in San Francisco,[5] where he died and is interred at Greenwood Cemetery in New Orleans.[1]
Referencesedit
^ abc"Jimmy Wood's career stats". retrosheet.org. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
^ abcTerry, James L. (20 March 2002). Long Before the Dodgers: Baseball in Brooklyn, 1855–1884, pgs. 152–153. McFarland. ISBN9780786412297. Retrieved 2008-01-27. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^Okrent, Daniel; Wulf, Steve (1989). Baseball Anecdotes, pg. 11. Oxford University Press. ISBN9780195043969. Retrieved 2008-01-27. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^ abJack Bales, Before They Were the Cubs: The Early Years of Chicago’s First Professional Baseball Team. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2019.
^ abc(PDF). sabr.org/Author: Bill Carle. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-08-11. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
External linksedit
Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
Jack Bales, Before They Were the Cubs: The Early Years of Chicago’s First Professional Baseball Team. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2019.
jimmy, wood, other, people, named, james, wood, james, wood, disambiguation, james, leon, wood, december, 1842, november, 1927, american, second, baseman, manager, early, professional, major, league, baseball, hailed, from, brooklyn, york, player, manager, fou. For other people named James Wood see James Wood disambiguation James Leon Wood December 1 1842 November 30 1927 was an American second baseman and manager in early professional Major League Baseball MLB who hailed from Brooklyn New York He was the player manager for four teams in the early National Association of Professional Base Ball Players NAPBBP 1871 1875 later known simply as the National Association NA the predecessor of the modern National League of Professional Baseball Clubs later known simply as the National League NL founded 1876 of modern Major League Baseball MLB where he spent his entire base ball career in the 1860s into the 1870s 1 Jimmy WoodJames Jimmy Leon Wood 1842 1927 in 1871Second Baseman ManagerBorn 1842 12 01 December 1 1842Brooklyn New YorkDied November 30 1927 1927 11 30 aged 84 San Francisco CaliforniaBatted UnknownThrew RightMLB NAPBBP debutMay 8 1871 for the Chicago White StockingsLast MLB NAPBBP appearanceNovember 1 1873 for the Philadelphia White StockingsMLB statisticsBatting average 333Runs scored162Runs batted in83Teams National Association of Base Ball Players NAPBBP 1871 1875 Brooklyn Eckfords 1860 1869 Chicago White Stockings 1870 League player Chicago White Stockings 1871 Troy Haymakers 1872 Brooklyn Eckfords 1872 Philadelphia White Stockings 1873 League manager Chicago White Stockings 1871 1874 1875 Troy Haymakers 1872 Brooklyn Eckfords 1872 Philadelphia White Stockings 1873 Wood s career in organized baseball began as early as 1860 when he began play for the Eckford of Brooklyn also known as the Brooklyn Eckfords with whom he played for nine seasons 1860 1869 during the following decade For the 1871 season he took the position of player manager for the Chicago White Stockings for a salary of 2 000 per year 2 The White Stockings eventually were renamed the Chicago Cubs so Wood is considered the first player signed by the Cubs their first star and their first manager It was with the White Stockings that he is credited for inventing the program of spring training when he moved his team down to New Orleans Louisiana prior to the upcoming season to train in warmer weather 3 With Chicago having signed Wood who had helped the Eckfords win two championships in 1862 and 1863 other star players followed allowing Chicago to put a good team on the field in 1871 4 For the 1871 season the team became a charter member of the newly organized NAPBBP the National Association In late September the Chicago team was tied with the Philadelphia Athletics for first place with games scheduled through late October and Chicago fans were looking forward to their first pennant However the Great Chicago Fire burned down most of the city on Oct 8 and 9 One of the buildings burned was the team s ballpark The team finished the season on the road with mismatched uniforms as the team s regular apparel also had been consumed by the fire With their homes and possessions gone and having had few opportunities for practice and despite Wood tallying a 378 batting average the team finished in third place but only two games behind the first place A s With the White Stockings not taking the field in 1872 Wood moved on to manage two other short term ill fated teams the Troy Haymakers and his old Eckford team 4 The next season 1873 he managed the Philadelphia White Stockings for a year until he was able to reorganize a new Chicago team 1 2 In 1874 he tried to lance an abscess on his left leg with a pocketknife He accidentally dropped the blade on his right leg and cut it This caused an infection which led to an eventual amputation of the right leg This did not end his managerial career though he returned to the Chicago White Stockings and managed them for two seasons before the National Association folded in 1875 In 1876 Wood became one of the new National League s first umpires 5 After retiring from professional baseball and moved to Florida and began investing in citrus interests His daughter Carrie married William Chase Temple who was at one time the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates It was he who the Temple Cup was named after Wood s granddaughter Dorothy Temple married pitcher Del Mason Wood s whereabouts had been debated for years until recently 5 In 1885 he operated a sporting goods store in Chicago 2 He was traced all over the United States and Canada and eventually wound up in San Francisco 5 where he died and is interred at Greenwood Cemetery in New Orleans 1 References edit a b c Jimmy Wood s career stats retrosheet org Retrieved 2008 01 27 a b c Terry James L 20 March 2002 Long Before the Dodgers Baseball in Brooklyn 1855 1884 pgs 152 153 McFarland ISBN 9780786412297 Retrieved 2008 01 27 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a work ignored help Okrent Daniel Wulf Steve 1989 Baseball Anecdotes pg 11 Oxford University Press ISBN 9780195043969 Retrieved 2008 01 27 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a work ignored help a b Jack Bales Before They Were the Cubs The Early Years of Chicago s First Professional Baseball Team Jefferson NC McFarland 2019 a b c Jimmy Wood Found PDF sabr org Author Bill Carle Archived from the original PDF on 2007 08 11 Retrieved 2008 01 27 External links editCareer statistics and player information from Baseball Reference Jack Bales Before They Were the Cubs The Early Years of Chicago s First Professional Baseball Team Jefferson NC McFarland 2019 Preceded byFirst manager Chicago White Stocking Managers1871 Succeeded byNo Team Preceded byBill Craver Troy Haymakers Managers1872 Succeeded byTeam Folded Preceded byJim Clinton Brooklyn Eckfords Managers1872 Succeeded byTeam Folded Preceded byFergy Malone Philadelphia White Stocking Managers1873 Succeeded byBill Craver Preceded byFergy Malone Chicago White Stocking Managers1874 1875 Succeeded byLeague Folded Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jimmy Wood amp oldid 1216579480, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
