| Ollie Pickering | |
|---|---|
 Pickering in 1921 | |
| Center fielder | |
| Born:(1870-04-09)April 9, 1870 Olney, Illinois | |
| Died: January 20, 1952(1952-01-20) (aged 81) Vincennes, Indiana | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 9, 1896, for the Louisville Colonels | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 8, 1908, for the Washington Senators | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .271 |
| Home runs | 9 |
| Runs batted in | 287 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Oliver Daniel Pickering (April 9, 1870 – January 20, 1952) was an American professionalbaseballoutfielder and manager in a 30-year career that spanned from the 1892Houston Mudcats to the 1922Paducah Indians.[1] He played for a number ofMajor League Baseball teams from 1896 to 1908: theLouisville Colonels,Cleveland Spiders,Cleveland Blues,Philadelphia Athletics,St. Louis Browns, andWashington Senators.[2]
Pickering is credited with giving baseball the term "Texas leaguer", a pejorative slang for a weakpop fly that lands unimpressively between aninfielder and an outfielder for a base hit. According to the April 21, 1906, edition ofThe Sporting Life,John McCloskey, founder of theTexas League and then-manager of the Houston Mudcats – who would later go onto manage theSt. Louis Cardinals – signed 22-year-old Pickering to play center field on the morning of May 21, 1892. That afternoon, Pickering turned in one of the most remarkable performances in the history of the Texas League, stringing together seven consecutive singles in one game, each a soft, looping fly ball that fell in no-man's land between either thefirst baseman andright fielder or thethird baseman andleft fielder.[3][4] News of Pickering's feat spread quickly throughout the nation, and the term "Texas leaguer" became ingrained in the baseball lexicon. Pickering's seven consecutive singles in a game still stands as a Texas League record.[5][6]
On April 24, 1901, Pickering was the leadoff batter for the Cleveland Blues (precursor to the Indians), which was the visiting team facing theChicago White Sox in the first game ever played in theAmerican League. The three other games scheduled that day were rained out. Thus, Pickering was the first person to bat in the American League.[7] According toThe Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia, based on an account from theCleveland Plains-Dealer, this transpired: "The date was April 24, in Chicago's White Sox park (a.k.a. South Side Park), when Ollie Pickering stepped to the plate for the Cleveland Blues. Pickering, an outfielder, hit the second pitch from Chicago White Sox right-handerRoy Patterson to center field.William Hoy, a deaf-mute who was cruelly nicknamed Dummy, caught the routine fly, and with that the American League was officially underway."[8] Chicago went on to win, 8–2.
On May 5, 1904, Pickering, playing for the Philadelphia Athletics, twice came close to spoilingCy Young's perfect game for theBoston Americans, the first ever thrown in the American League. Of Pickering's performance, author Michael Coffey wrote: "In the fourth ... Ollie Pickering looped one into the no-man's land beyond the second-base bag – in a bid for the kind of hit he made famous – only to have center fielderChick Stahl make a fine running catch. Pickering was almost the spoiler again, with one down in the top of the sixth, when he tapped a slow roller to short, butFreddy Parent charged the ball and nipped Pickering by half a step."[9]
Pickering played and managed in the minor leagues into his 50s. His playing days ended in 1920 at the age of 50 with theRedfield Reds. He last managed with the Paducah Indians in 1922. Upon his retirement from the game, Pickering became anumpire and later retired inVincennes, Indiana.
Pickering's great-great-grandson isNational Football League side judge Jimmy Russell.
