| Joe Boley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born:(1896-07-19)July 19, 1896 Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| Died: December 30, 1962(1962-12-30) (aged 66) Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 12, 1927, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 29, 1932, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .269 |
| Home runs | 7 |
| Runs batted in | 227 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
John Peter "Joe"Boley (July 19, 1896 – December 30, 1962) was an American professionalbaseball player. He played as ashortstop inMajor League Baseball (MLB) from 1927 to 1932, most notably as a member of thePhiladelphia Athletics dynasty that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1929 to 1931 and, won theWorld Series in 1929 and 1930. He also played for theCleveland Indians.
Boley started his professional career with theBaltimore Orioles where he played on seven championship teams. Boley, along with teammatesLefty Grove andJack Ogden were held back by managerJack Dunn for financial and performance reasons, which held back his Major League career. He was signed byConnie Mack for an estimated $60,000 in 1927, but his career was on the decline. Despite his short MLB career, Boley was considered to be one of the top shortstops in baseball.
Born John Peter Bolinsky to Polish immigrants, Bolinsky started working in the coal fields surroundingMahanoy City, Pennsylvania at age 10.[1] He legally changed his last name to Boley in the late 1910s, either because of his professional career, or because he wanted an "Americanized" name.[1] He began his professional baseball career at the age of 19 with theChambersburg Maroons of the class DBlue Ridge League in 1916. He moved up to the class BHarrisburg Islanders of theNew York State League in 1917.
Boley was a good fielder, steady hitter, and member of theBaltimore Orioles team that won seven consecutiveInternational League championships (1919–1925). In 1923, theNew York Yankees took an interest in Boley to replace aging shortstopEverett Scott, but backed off as Boley's reputed $100,000 price tag kept the Yankees and major league bidders at bay for years.[2] TheChicago White Sox also took an interest in Boley, but Dunn requested $100,000 and three players, which they declined.[3] It made managerJack Dunn give Boley a high salary, similar to the average pay from Major League Baseball.[4] After theToronto Maple Leafs won the pennant in 1926, Dunn redundantly parted ways with Boley.[5] Athletics ownerConnie Mack bought him for an estimated $60,000 to $100,000 in 1927, when the Orioles team was being disbanded.[6] He was elected to the International League Hall of Fame in 1954.[1]
During his first MLB season, the 28-year-old rookiebatted .311 for the A's.[7] Boley joinedJimmie Foxx,Max Bishop, andJimmy Dykes in Mack's "Million Dollar Infield", which sparked the A's to three pennants and two world championships (1929–31). In 1930, Boley again led allAmerican League shortstops with a .970 fielding percentage, while finishing fourth in assists and putouts.[7] He had career highs in bothhome runs (4) andRBIs (55).[7] Boley was injured for most of 1931, playing only in 67 games, and batting a career-low .228.Dib Williams took over at shortstop and played well, costing Boley his starting job once he recovered.[6]
Before the start of the1932spring training, Mack sold Boley to theCleveland Indians in a trial basis, with the proviso that the Indians would buy his full contract if satisfied, and return him to the Athletics if not.[8] The Indians had tried three shortstops during its 1931 campaign,Ed Montague,Bill Hunnefield andJonah Goldman, without much success.[9][10] Cleveland managerRoger Peckinpaugh thought Boley's fielding skills would help them win, and Boley was considered a "considerable improvement" by local sportswriters.[9] Commissioner of BaseballKenesaw Mountain Landis vetoed the "try-him-and-buy-him" deal and ordered Boley to return to the Athletics.[8] Mack commented of the veto "It seemed a shame for a player of Joe's years and ability... to sit on a bench when he might be playing regularly with some other club."[8] He regained his starting job once Williams started struggling, but injured his shoulder a few weeks into the season and started playing poorly.[6] He was released by the Athletics on May 9, which was likely linked to the injury and subsequent play.[6] Between his two stints between teams, Boley helped save the lives of five occupants of a burning car near Philadelphia and drove the injured to the hospital.[11] He signed a contract with the Indians on June 10, but only played one game with them.[12] In a June 29 loss against theDetroit Tigers, Boley had a harmlesssingle in four at-bats, while starting at shortstop.[13] He was released a week later, ending his career.[1]
In 540 games over six seasons, Boley posted a .269batting average (478-for-1780) with 203runs, 88doubles, 22triples, 7home runs, 227RBI and 130bases on balls. Defensively, he recorded a .957fielding percentage. In three World Series (1929–31) he batted .154 (6-for-39) with 2 runs and 2 RBI.[7]
Nicknamed "Silent Joe" for his quiet personality, Boley was named "the second least talkative player in the big leagues" by legendaryWashington Post reporterShirley Povich.[1] Boley was married to Ann Christoff and had three children.[1] He worked in the mining fields before moving to the automotive business during the off-season.[14] He died in Mahanoy City, after a six-week hospital stay in 1962.[1][7]