| George Stone | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Left fielder | |
| Born:(1876-09-03)September 3, 1876 Lost Nation, Iowa, U.S. | |
| Died: January 3, 1945(1945-01-03) (aged 68) Clinton, Iowa, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 20, 1903, for the Boston Americans | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 9, 1910, for the St. Louis Browns | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .301 |
| Home runs | 23 |
| Runs batted in | 268 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
George Robert Stone, nicknamedSilent George,[1] (September 3, 1876 – January 3, 1945) was an Americanleft fielder inMajor League Baseball who played for theBoston Red Sox (1903) andSt. Louis Browns (1905–10). Stone batted and threwleft-handed. He was the 1906American League batting champion.
Stone was born inLost Nation,Iowa, to George and Hannah Stone.[2] Prior to playing baseball, he had a career in banking in Nebraska.[3][2] A 1906 article on him noted that his taste ran to reading, and his hobby was violin playing.[2]
He left his career in banking in 1901 at the age of 24 to join theOmaha Omahogs of theWestern League.[3] In 1902 he played for the Omahogs and thePeoria Distillers and led the league with 198hits, and the next year he again played for the Omahogs.[4][2]
He made his major league debut in 1903 at the age of 26 with theBoston Americans.[5] He played most of 1903 for theMilwaukee Creams of theWestern League.[4] In 1903 with the Creams he was third in the Western League inhome runs (4).[6][7]
In 1904 with theMilwaukee Brewers he led theAmerican Association in batting with a .406batting average (which remained the league record until the league closed down in 1997), in slugging with a .558 average, and in hits (254), as he was second in the league intriples (19).[6][2]
In December 1904 he was traded by the Boston Americans to theSt. Louis Browns forJesse Burkett and cash.[5] In 1905 he led the American League in hits (187) andtotal bases (259), and was second in home runs (7).[5][2]
In 1906, he batted .358 and won theAmerican League batting championship (beating four-time batting championNapoleon Lajoie), and also led the league in slugging (.501) and inon-base percentage (.417), as he was second in the league in hits (208; behind Lajoie) and triples (20; behindElmer Flick), and third in home runs (6). In 1907 he batted .320.[1][5][2]
In 1907 he was second in the AL in on-base percentage (.387) and hits (191; behindTy Cobb), and third in the league in batting after hitting .320 (behind Cobb andSam Crawford).[5] In 1908, he was third in the American League in home runs (5).[5] He played his last game in 1910.[5]
In a seven-season major league career, Stone posted a .301batting average (984-for-3271) with 23 home runs and 268RBIs in 848games played.[5]
He is the only player who won the American League batting title in the years from 1901 through 1928, who was not made a member of theBaseball Hall of Fame.[2]
Stone entered the banking industry inColeridge, Nebraska, and owned a Western League team in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1916.[2] In 1940, he and his wife Pearl moved toClinton, Iowa.[2] Stone died of a heart attack in Clinton at the age of 68. The burial was at Coleridge Cemetery, inColeridge, Nebraska.[8][2]
In 1970 he was inducted intoThe Des Moines Register's Iowa SportsHall of Fame.
· Baseball Almanac