| Ed Holly | |
|---|---|
 Holly in 1907 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born:(1879-07-06)July 6, 1879 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| Died: November 27, 1973(1973-11-27) (aged 94) Williamsport, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 18, 1906, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 6, 1915, for the Pittsburgh Rebels | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .231 |
| Home runs | 1 |
| Runs batted in | 78 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
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Edward William Holly (1879–1973), born Edward William Ruthlavy, was an AmericanMajor League Baseballshortstop. He played all or part of four seasons in the majors. He is also a member of theInternational League Hall of Fame.
Holly's professional career began in1899 with theWestern League'sMilwaukee Brewers. In1901, he played for theSt. Paul Saints. After eight years in the minor leagues, Holly was acquired from theJohnstown Johnnies, where he had batted .298 in1906 by theSt. Louis Cardinals. He played 10 games for the Cards, batting just .059, but was apparently impressive enough to be handed the starting shortstop job in1907, replacingForrest Crawford. Holly played 150 games for St. Louis that year, batting .229. He was let go after the season.
In1908, Holly was back in the minor leagues, playing for theRochester Bronchos of theEastern League, the predecessor of theInternational League. He spent the next six seasons in that league, with the Bronchos,Montreal Royals, andToronto Maple Leafs, where he built his reputation as a top defensive shortstop. Three of his teams won the league championship during his tenure: Rochester in1909 and1910, and Montreal in1912.
It would take a third major league to bring Holly back to the majors in1914. That year, Holly joined thePittsburgh Rebels of the upstartFederal League. He served as their starting shortstop that year, batting .246 in 100 games. The next season, however, he was on the bench behindMarty Berghammer, who had jumped over from theCincinnati Reds. After the season, the Federal League folded, and Holly retired as an active player.
Holly returned to the International League in1928 as manager of the Montreal Royals. He managed the club for three full seasons and parts of two others—including winning 96 games in1930—before being let go partway through the1932 season. He was also a long-time scout for several different major league teams. He was elected to the IL Hall of Fame in1949.