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| George Case | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born:(1915-11-11)November 11, 1915 Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| Died: January 23, 1989(1989-01-23) (aged 73) Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 8, 1937, for the Washington Senators | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 3, 1947, for the Washington Senators | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .282 |
| Home runs | 21 |
| Runs batted in | 377 |
| Stolen bases | 349 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
George Washington Case (November 11, 1915 – January 23, 1989) was an Americanleft andright fielder inMajor League Baseball who played most of his career for theWashington Senators. Possibly the sport's fastest player between the 1920s and 1950s, he is the only player to lead the major leagues instolen bases five consecutive times (1939–1943),[1] and his six overall league titles tiedTy Cobb'sAmerican League record; that mark was later broken byLuis Aparicio. His 349 career steals ranked ninth in AL history at the end of his career, and were the most by any player from 1930 to 1960; his 321 steals with the Senators were the third most in Washington history.
Born inTrenton, New Jersey, Case attendedTrenton Central High School and then thePeddie School in Hightstown, from which he graduated in 1936.[2] He made his first appearance with the Senators in September1937, and in his1938 rookie seasonbatted .305. In 1939 he batted .302, led the Senators with 103runs, and topped the league for the first time with 51 steals, also earning the first of fourAll-Star selections. In1940 he posted career highs in runs (109),hits (192) andruns batted in (56) while recording 35 steals. After having 33 stolen bases and leading the AL inassists in1941, he hit a career-high .320 in1942, again scoring over 100 runs with 44 steals. In 1943 he won his fifth straight title with 61 stolen bases, equalling the highest total in the major leagues between 1921 and 1961; he also led the AL with 102 runs, with a personal best of 36doubles and a .294 average, as the Senators enjoyed their first winning season since 1936, finishing second in the AL to theNew York Yankees.1944 saw him slip to a .250 average and only 63 runs, though he finished second toSnuffy Stirnweiss in the AL with 49 steals.1945 saw him again finish second to Stirnweiss with 30 steals as he raised his average to .294; the Senators again finished second, only a game and a half behind theDetroit Tigers, and Case earned his last All-Star selection (though the game was cancelled due to war restrictions) and finished ninth in theMVP voting.
In December 1945, he was traded to theCleveland Indians forJeff Heath; in1946 he won his last stolen base title with 28, though he only batted .225 with just 46 runs. During that season, new Indians ownerBill Veeck staged one of his famous promotions, matching Case againstJesse Owens in a 100-yard race which Owens won. In March1947 Case was traded back to the Senators, and after hitting for a .150 average in 36 games he retired due to spinal problems which had plagued him throughout his career. Over his 11-year career he batted .282 with 785 runs, 1,415 hits, 21home runs and 377 RBI in 1,226 games played. His 321 steals with the Senators placed him behind onlyClyde Milan (495) andSam Rice (346) in Washington history. He surpassed the .300 mark three times in the majors.
In retirement, Case opened a sporting goods store in Trenton, and also coached atRutgers from 1950 to 1960, winning the school's onlyCollege World Series berth in his first year. He later coached for theexpansion Senators from 1961–63, and for theMinnesota Twins (the relocated original Senators) in 1968; he also managed in thePacific Coast League for two seasons in the 1960s. In 1969 he became a minor league instructor for the Yankees, and later had the same position with theSeattle Mariners. He died ofemphysema at age 73 in Trenton.
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