| Everett Scott | |
|---|---|
 Scott in 1915 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born:(1892-11-19)November 19, 1892 Bluffton, Indiana, U.S. | |
| Died: November 2, 1960(1960-11-02) (aged 67) Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 14, 1914, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 27, 1926, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .249 |
| Home runs | 20 |
| Runs batted in | 551 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Lewis Everett Scott (November 19, 1892 – November 2, 1960), nicknamed "Deacon", was an American professionalbaseball player. Ashortstop, Scott played inMajor League Baseball for 12 seasons as a member of theBoston Red Sox,New York Yankees,Washington Senators,Chicago White Sox andCincinnati Reds, from 1914 through 1926. Scott batted and threw right-handed.
Scott served ascaptain of both the Red Sox and Yankees, who have becomefierce rivals. He compiled a lifetimebatting average of .249, hitting 20home runs with 551runs batted in in 1,654 games. He ledAmerican League shortstops infielding percentage seven straight seasons (1916–22) and appeared in1,307 consecutive games from June 20, 1916, through May 5, 1925, setting a record later broken byLou Gehrig. As of 2025[update], it is still the third-longest streak in history.
After retiring from baseball, Scott became a professionalbowler and ownedbowling alleys. He died inFort Wayne, Indiana, at the age of 67. He was posthumously inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame andBoston Red Sox Hall of Fame.
Scott was born inBluffton, Indiana. He had two brothers and a sister. His father, Lewis, had moved to Bluffton fromWarren, Indiana, shortly before Everett's birth. Lewis' brother, Frame, had been abaseball player when he was younger.[1]
Scott attendedBluffton High School, where he played for the school's baseball andbasketball teams.[2][3] He graduated in 1909.[2] Scott married his high school sweetheart, Gladys Watt, in 1912.[2][4]
After graduating from Bluffton, Scott made hisprofessional baseball debut inMinor League Baseball with theKokomo Wild Cats of theClass DNorthern State of Indiana League in 1909. He moved to theFairmont Champions of the Class DPennsylvania–West Virginia League for the remainder of the 1909 season. He began the 1910 season with Fairmont, and completed the season with Kokomo.[2] He joined theYoungstown Steelmen of the Class COhio–Pennsylvania League in 1911, and remained with them in 1912, when they played in the Class BCentral League.[2]
Jimmy McAleer, a native of Youngstown and minority owner of theBoston Red Sox of theAmerican League (AL), noticed Scott playing for the Steelmen.[2] On McAleer's suggestion, the Red Sox purchased Scott from Youngstown after the 1912 season,[5] andoptioned him to theSt. Paul Saints of the Class AAAmerican Association.[6] Towards the end of the 1913 season, the Red Sox recalled Scott.[7]
Bill Phillips, manager of theIndianapolis Hoosiers of the outlawFederal League, attempted to convince Scott to jump from the AL after the 1913 season by offering Scott a $4,000 contract ($127,259 today). Scott remained with the Red Sox, signing a contract for $2,500 ($78,480 today) for the 1914 season.[2][8]
Scott made his major league debut on April 14, 1914, for the Red Sox, and had a .239batting average with strong fielding as arookie. His batting average dropped to .201 in the 1915 season. The Red Sox won theAL pennant, and defeated thePhiladelphia Phillies in the1915 World Series. Scott had onehit in 18at bats during the series.[2]
On June 20, 1916, Scott began a consecutive games played streak.[9] Scott batted .232 in the 1916 season and led all AL shortstops infielding percentage.[2][10] In the1916 World Series, the Red Sox defeated theBrooklyn Robins. Scott had two hits in 16 at bats, andWilbert Robinson of the Robins nicknamed Scott "Trolley Wire" due to his accurate throws.[2]
After a contract dispute, when Scott refused a pay cut from the Red Sox,[11] Scott signed a contract for the 1918 season. He batted .241 in 1917,[2] while leading AL shortstops in fielding percentage and defensive games played,[12] but the Red Sox did not win the pennant. Scott batted .221 in the 1918 season,[2] while leading AL shortstops in fielding percentage for the third consecutive season,[13] as the Red Sox won the1918 World Series. In April 1919, Scott signed a three-year contract with the Red Sox.[2] Scott led AL shortstops in fielding percentage for the fourth consecutive season in 1919,[14] and batted .278, the highest average of his career.[2]
Scott brokeGeorge Pinkney's MLB consecutive games played streak of 577 on April 26, 1920.[15] He again led AL shortstops in fielding percentage.[16] The Red Sox named Scott team captain for the 1921 season, after the previous captain,Harry Hooper, was traded to theChicago White Sox.[17] During spring training in 1921, Scott dealt with leg cramp that threatened his playing streak, but he was able to continue playing. Scott had 62runs batted in on the season, and stated that it was his goal to play in 1,000 consecutive games.[2]
After the 1921 season, the Red Sox traded Scott withBullet Joe Bush andSad Sam Jones to theNew York Yankees forRip Collins,Roger Peckinpaugh,Bill Piercy,Jack Quinn and $100,000 ($1,762,873 in current dollar terms).Del Pratt succeeded Scott as captain of the Red Sox.[18]
After Peckinpaugh, the captain of the Yankees, was traded,Babe Ruth was named the new team captain. Ruth was suspended in May 1922 and Scott was named captain in Ruth's place.[19] Scott remained the Yankees' captain through 1925.[20]
Scott played with the Yankees in the1922 World Series. He entered the 1923 season 14 games shy of his goal of 1,000 consecutive games played, but sprained his ankle during spring training. He played on Opening Day at the newly openedYankee Stadium, recording the firstassist in the stadium's history. He played his 1,000th consecutive MLB game on May 2, 1923.U.S. Secretary of the NavyEdwin C. Denby presented Scott with a gold medal during a pregame ceremony.[2][15][21] Scott brokePerry Lipe's record for consecutive professional baseball games (regardless of level) with his 1,127th game on September 14, 1923; Lipe was a career minor leaguer who never played at the MLB level.[22][23] By the following offseason, managerMiller Huggins began to consider ending Scott's streak.[24] Huggins benched Scott on May 6, 1925, in favor ofPee Wee Wanninger, ending his record consecutive games played streak at 1,307.[9][25]
TheWashington Senators selected Scott offwaivers from the New York Yankees in June 1925, paying the Yankees the waiver price of $4,000 ($71,719 today).[26] With the Senators, Scott served as Peckinpaugh's backup.[27] The Senators reached the1925 World Series, but lost to thePittsburgh Pirates; Scott did not appear in the series.[28]
Though it was reported that Scott would retire to manage his business inFort Wayne, Indiana,[29] theChicago White Sox signed Scott in February 1926.[30] TheCincinnati Reds purchased Scott from the White Sox in July 1926.[31] He played in four games for the Reds.[2]
Scott signed with theBaltimore Orioles of theInternational League for the 1927 season,[32] receiving his unconditionally release on August 4.[2] He signed with theToledo Mud Hens of theAmerican Association in August,[33] and played in 33 games for them.[2] Toledo released him after the season.[34] Scott played with theReading Keystones of the International League in 1928, batting .315. Scott returned to the Keystones in 1929, but received his release in July 1929 after 62 games,[2] due to the team's disappointing play.[35][36]
Scott was an avidbowler, and he competed inten-pin bowling events sanctioned by theAmerican Bowling Congress.[37][38] He bowled against professionalHank Marino in 1931, though he lost.[39] Scott also owned bowling alleys in Fort Wayne.[40][41] He wrote a children's book, calledThird Base Thatcher, that was published in 1928.[2]
Lou Gehrig, a former teammate of Scott's on the Yankees, surpassed Scott's record of consecutive games played on August 17, 1933, in a game against theSt. Louis Browns.[41] Gehrig's streak began in 1925, by pinch hitting for Wanninger, the same season Scott's streak ended.[2][42] Scott attended the game atSportsman's Park as a special guest of the Browns.[41]Scott died inParkview Hospital inFort Wayne, Indiana at age 67. He was posthumously inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986,[43] and theBoston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2008.[44]The News-Sentinel named Scott the fourth-best athlete fromNortheastern Indiana of the 20th century.[45][46]
· Baseball Almanac| Preceded by | New York Yankees team captain 1922 to 1925 | Succeeded by |
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