| Ed Konetchy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born: September 3, 1885 La Crosse, Wisconsin, U.S. | |
| Died: May 27, 1947(1947-05-27) (aged 61) Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 29, 1907, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 1, 1921, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .281 |
| Hits | 2,150 |
| Home runs | 74 |
| Runs batted in | 992 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Edward Joseph Konetchy (September 3, 1885 – May 27, 1947), nicknamed "Big Ed" and "the Candy Kid", was an Americanfirst baseman inMajor League Baseball for a number of teams, primarily in theNational League, from1907 to1921. He played for theSt. Louis Cardinals (1907–1913),Pittsburgh Pirates (1914),Pittsburgh Rebels of theFederal League (1915),Boston Braves (1916–1918),Brooklyn Robins (1919–1921), andPhiladelphia Phillies (1921). He batted and threw right-handed.
Ed Konetchy was born on September 3, 1885, inLa Crosse, Wisconsin, the son of immigrantBohemian (Czech) parents.[1] In his youth, he would play ball in the sandlots of La Crosse. For at least some time he attended Lincoln Middle School, and worked in a candy factory where he joined the factory's baseball team.[1] At 19 he joined theLa Crosse Pinks of the Class-D Wisconsin State League,[1] playing with the team at a park in what is now the 23rd and 24th Street Historic Neighborhood, at the current site of Heeter's Car Care. While he was considered an above-average hitter (hebatted over .300 four times) he was more known around the league for his supreme consistency, his never-faltering speed, and his high degree of defensive skill at first base.
Konetchy made his Major League debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1907, and went on to acquire 25stolen bases in1909, hit .302 in1910, and pick up 88RBIs in1911.[2] He also had a 20-gamehitting streak in 1910. In 1911, with the Cards only three games out of first place in early July, the team was involved in atrain crash on its way from Philadelphia to Boston. 47 passengers were injured, while twelve died. None of the Cardinals were seriously injured, due to a pre-trip change in the location of their car to the rear of the train. Konetchy and CardsmanagerRoger Bresnahan led the rescue effort, carrying many passengers to safety, some of whom may have died. Despite posting their first winning season since 1901, the Cardinals never recovered from the incident, finishing a distant fifth; but Konetchy led the NL with 38doubles, and his own team with six home runs and 88 RBIs. He led the Cardinals in hits in 1909, 1910, 1911, and 1912.[3] When Konetchy moved to the Pirates in 1914, he had a below-average season, followed by an above-average one in the same city, but on a different team in a different league. Playing for Pittsburgh of the Federal League, he tied his career high with a .314 average, with 10home runs and 93 RBIs.
Soon, he was back in the National League, and he was picking up hits in droves. In1920 with Brooklyn, Konetchy got his only shot at postseason play during his career, although Brooklyn (93-61) lost theWorld Series in seven games to the 98–56Cleveland Indians. In the Series, Konetchy picked up fourhits in 23at bats, a .174 average. However, he did have 2 RBIs in the Series, and threewalks.
By the end of 1920, he had surpassed 2000 career hits and was quite high on the all-time leaderboard (into the top 25). His final season was spent in Brooklyn and then Philadelphia, when the Phillies selected him offwaivers on July 4, 1921.
Konetchy's major league career ended there. Besides playing first base, he had tried outpitching, having thrown in 3 games. One of them, at Chicago in 1918, was a fairly bad start in which he pitched acomplete game and allowed 8 runs (6earned). This is believed to be the last instance of a non-pitcher pitching even the first two innings of a game:Alvin Dark andCésar Tovar pitched a first inning, once each. His tworelief appearances were more successful: in one, he went4+2⁄3innings and gave up no runs on one hit to get thewin.
In 2085 games, he batted a solid .281 with 74 home runs and 992 RBIs. He had 2150 career hits in 7649 at bats. Konetchy also picked up 255 career stolen bases. He ended with a total of 344 doubles, and after having reached doubles figures intriples ten times, retired with 182, tying him for the 11th highest total in history. He finished his career with a .990fielding percentage.
After leaving the majors, he played with Fort Worth of theTexas League from1922 through1927, batting .345 with 41 home runs in1925. After retiring, he went into business with pitching starJoe Pate.
He died inFort Worth, Texas, at the age of 61. The cause washeart disease. He was posthumously inducted into theWisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1961. His interment was located at Fort Worth's cemetery Greenwood Memorial Park.
· Baseball Almanac