Oscar George "Ox" Eckhardt (December 23, 1901 – April 22, 1951) was an outfielder for the Boston Braves and Brooklyn Dodgers. Eckhardt holds the known[A] all-time professional baseball record for batting average, counting both major and minor league stats with .365.
In spite of his outstanding ability to hit for average, Eckhardt – a poor fielder who lacked much home run power – was never able to establish himself in the major leagues. He spent a few years as a coach and assistant professor at West Texas State Teachers College (now West Texas A&M University), so he was already 26 when he started seriously playing minor league ball,[1] which is older than the average age of major league debuts.[2] He was invited to spring training by the Detroit Tigers in 1929,[1] 1930,[3] and 1931,[1] but he didn't make the team. He played in spring training for the Boston Braves 1932, and did go north with the Braves, but was sent back to the minors after eight at bats as a pinch hitter. The next year, 1933, he hit .414 for the San Francisco Missions, which is the PCL (Pacific Coast League) record. In 1935, he again won the PCL batting title, edging out 20-year-old Joe DiMaggio, .399 to .398.[1]
This finally earned him a slot on a major league club, the 1936 Brooklyn Dodgers, with a chance to win a job as a regular. But Eckhardt was 36 years old by then, was still a poor fielder with little power, and in ten starts hit just .182 in 44 at bats. He was sent back to the minors, never to return.[1]
Early baseball minor league records are incomplete and most of the missing data is lost to history, so whether Eckhardt would still hold the record if data was complete can never be known with certainty, but is probable since most relevant records are known. The cutoff for consideration is (arbitrarily) set at 1,000 at bats.
References
^ abcdefChris Rainey. "Ox Eckhardt". SABR (Society for American Baseball Research). Retrieved July 18, 2020.
^Travis Sawchik (November 8, 2018). "Nobody Wants Baseball's 30-Something Free Agents Anymore". Five Thirty Eight. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
^Scott Ferkovich (August 3, 2014). "The Ox That Ate The Georgia Peach". Seamheads.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
^Illustrated Football Annual. Fiction House. 1933.
External links
Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
eckhardt, oscar, george, eckhardt, december, 1901, april, 1951, outfielder, boston, braves, brooklyn, dodgers, eckhardt, holds, known, time, professional, baseball, record, batting, average, counting, both, major, minor, league, stats, with, eckhardt, 1929born. Oscar George Ox Eckhardt December 23 1901 April 22 1951 was an outfielder for the Boston Braves and Brooklyn Dodgers Eckhardt holds the known A all time professional baseball record for batting average counting both major and minor league stats with 365 Ox EckhardtEckhardt in 1929BornOscar George Eckhardt 1901 12 23 December 23 1901Yorktown Texas U S DiedApril 22 1951 1951 04 22 aged 49 Yorktown Texas U S Football careerNo 0Position FullbackPersonal informationHeight 6 ft 1 in 1 85 m Weight 190 lb 86 kg Career informationHigh school Stephen F Austin Austin Texas College TexasCareer historyNew York Giants 1926 Career NFL statisticsRushing touchdowns 2Player stats at NFL com PFRBaseball careerRight fielderBatted LeftThrew RightMLB debutApril 16 1932 for the Boston BravesLast MLB appearanceMay 15 1936 for the Brooklyn DodgersMLB statisticsBatting average 192Home runs1RBI7TeamsBoston Braves 1932 Brooklyn Dodgers 1936 Contents 1 Baseball career 2 Football career 3 Head coaching record 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksBaseball career EditIn spite of his outstanding ability to hit for average Eckhardt a poor fielder who lacked much home run power was never able to establish himself in the major leagues He spent a few years as a coach and assistant professor at West Texas State Teachers College now West Texas A amp M University so he was already 26 when he started seriously playing minor league ball 1 which is older than the average age of major league debuts 2 He was invited to spring training by the Detroit Tigers in 1929 1 1930 3 and 1931 1 but he didn t make the team He played in spring training for the Boston Braves 1932 and did go north with the Braves but was sent back to the minors after eight at bats as a pinch hitter The next year 1933 he hit 414 for the San Francisco Missions which is the PCL Pacific Coast League record In 1935 he again won the PCL batting title edging out 20 year old Joe DiMaggio 399 to 398 1 This finally earned him a slot on a major league club the 1936 Brooklyn Dodgers with a chance to win a job as a regular But Eckhardt was 36 years old by then was still a poor fielder with little power and in ten starts hit just 182 in 44 at bats He was sent back to the minors never to return 1 Football career EditEckhardt played halfback and quarterback for the Texas Longhorns and professionally as a fullback in 11 games for the New York Giants of the National Football League NFL 1 He intercepted a pass in the Longhorns 16 0 upset win over Vanderbilt in 1923 4 Eckhardt was inducted into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame in 2003 Head coaching record EditYear Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl playoffsWest Texas State Buffaloes Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association 1925 1927 1925 West Texas State 4 4 1 3 T 10th1926 West Texas State 2 6 0 4 9th1927 West Texas State 6 3 1 2 2 T 5thWest Texas State 12 13 1 3 9Total 12 13 1Notes Edit Early baseball minor league records are incomplete and most of the missing data is lost to history so whether Eckhardt would still hold the record if data was complete can never be known with certainty but is probable since most relevant records are known The cutoff for consideration is arbitrarily set at 1 000 at bats References Edit a b c d e f Chris Rainey Ox Eckhardt SABR Society for American Baseball Research Retrieved July 18 2020 Travis Sawchik November 8 2018 Nobody Wants Baseball s 30 Something Free Agents Anymore Five Thirty Eight Retrieved July 18 2020 Scott Ferkovich August 3 2014 The Ox That Ate The Georgia Peach Seamheads com Retrieved July 19 2020 Illustrated Football Annual Fiction House 1933 External links EditCareer statistics and player information from Baseball Reference or Baseball Reference Minors Ox Eckhardt at Find a Grave This biographical article relating to an American football running back born in the 1900s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte This biographical article relating to a baseball outfielder is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ox Eckhardt amp oldid 1167480863, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
