| Charlie Hickman | |
|---|---|
 Hickman as college baseball coach, c. 1916 | |
| Utility player | |
| Born:(1876-03-04)March 4, 1876[a] Dunkard Township, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| Died: April 19, 1934(1934-04-19) (aged 58) Morgantown, West Virginia, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 8, 1897, for the Boston Beaneaters | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 31, 1908, for the Cleveland Naps | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .295 |
| Home runs | 59 |
| Runs batted in | 614 |
| Win–loss record | 10–8 |
| Earned run average | 4.28 |
| Strikeouts | 37 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Charles Taylor Hickman (March 4, 1876 – April 19, 1934)[a] was an American professionalbaseball player andcollege baseball coach. He played all or part of 12 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB) as autility player for seven different franchises, including over 200 games each with theCleveland Bronchos / Naps,Washington Senators, andNew York Giants. After his professional career, he coached theWest Virginia Mountaineers for four seasons.
Hickman was born inTaylortown, Pennsylvania, south ofPittsburgh, and played one season ofcollege baseball atWest Virginia University in 1897.[3] He began his professional career in theInterstate League, aminor league, in 1896–1897.[4]
Hickman's first major-league experience came with theBoston Beaneaters in 1897, when he appeared in two games as a pitcher. He made 19 additional appearances with Boston in both 1898 and 1899, mainly as a pitcher along with games as a first baseman and outfielder. In 40 total games with the Beaneaters, Hickman compiled a .339batting average along with a 7–2win–loss record as a pitcher.[5]
Hickman next played for theNew York Giants, who purchased his contract in March 1900, appearing in 127 games in 1900 and 112 games in 1901. As a pitcher he went 3–5 in nine starts during 1901, after not pitching the prior season. He batted .297 in 239 total games with the Giants. Defensively, he was the team's primary third baseman in 1900, while in 1901 he made appearances at all positions except for catcher.[5]
Hickman began the 1902 season with theBoston Americans, in the second season of play for theAmerican League. In 28 games, he batted .296 while making 27 appearances as a left fielder and one as apinch runner. On June 3, his contract was sold by Boston.[5]
Hickman spent the remainder of the 1902 season with theCleveland Bronchos, serving as the team's primary first baseman (98 games). He batted .378 through the end of the season with Cleveland, for an overall batting average of .361 for the 1902 season. He led the American League in hits (193) andtotal bases (288) for the season. He returned to the team, renamed as theCleveland Naps, for 1903 (batting .295 in 131 games) and part of 1904 (batting .288 in 86 games) until he was traded on August 7, 1904.[5]
Hickman joined theDetroit Tigers in exchange for first basemanCharlie Carr, playing 42 games through the end of the 1904 season. Defensively, he played exclusively at first base (39 games) along with three pinch hitting appearances. He batted .243 in those games for Detroit, giving him an overall average of .274 for the 1904 season. He returned to Detroit in 1905, playing 47 games in right field and 12 games at first base—while batting only .221—until the team sold his contract on July 6. In 101 total games with Detroit split across two seasons, he had a .230 average.[5]
Hickman played for theWashington Senators for 88 games in 1905, 120 games in 1906, and 64 games in 1907. He played primarily as a second baseman in his first season with the team, then was a right fielder in 1906, and split time between first base and right field in his final season with the team. He made his final major-league pitching appearance with the Senators, pitching five innings in a single relief appearance in 1907. He compiled an overall .292 batting average with the team until his contract was sold on August 1, 1907.[5]
Hickman finished the 1907 season with theChicago White Sox, batting .261 in 21 games, primarily as a pinch hitter. After the season, the team sold his contract.[5]
Hickman completed his major-league career with 66 games for Cleveland, until he was traded into the minor leagues on August 3, 1908. He batted .234 with the 1908 Naps. In two stints and 384 total career games with Cleveland, he had a .309 average.[5]
While his final major-league appearance came in July 1908, Hickman played professionally as late as 1911 in the minor-leagueAmerican Association.[4] A newspaper article in July of that season noted that he had weight issues through his career—"His girth and dimensions have increased with each passing season."[6]
Hickman played in 1,081 major-league games across 12 seasons and had a .295 average with 59 home runs and 614runs batted in (RBIs).[5] Despite acquiring the nickname "Piano Legs", he amassed 91triples and had 72stolen bases.[5] As a pitcher, he compiled a 10–8 record in 30 games (22 starts) with a 4.28earned run average (ERA) while striking out 37 batters in 185innings pitched.[5]
Hickman was not a strong defender,[7] committing 357errors during his major-league career while posting a .946fielding percentage.[5] His 87 errors during the 1900 season (86 in 120 games at third base, and one in seven games as an outfielder)[5] are the third-worst in major-league history since 1900, exceeded only byJohn Gochnaur (98 in 1903) andBill Keister (97 in 1901).[8] Gochnaur set the record as a shortstop for the 1903 Naps, when Hickman was the team's primary first baseman.[7] Hickman also committed five errors in a single game on September 29, 1905, as a second baseman with the Washington Senators.[7][9]
Hickman served as anumpire for one major-league game, occurring on April 29, 1907.[10] With no regular umpires present, Hickman (with the Washington Senators) umpired at home andChief Bender (of thePhiladelphia Athletics) umpired at first base.[11][12]
Hickman coached theWest Virginia Mountaineers baseball team for four seasons, in 1913 and 1915–1917. His career record was 58–23–1.[13]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia Mountaineers(Independent)(1913) | |||||||||
| 1913 | West Virginia | 12–4 | |||||||
| West Virginia Mountaineers(Independent)(1915–1917) | |||||||||
| 1915 | West Virginia | 19–7–1 | |||||||
| 1916 | West Virginia | 17–6 | |||||||
| 1917 | West Virginia | 10–6 | |||||||
| Total: | 58–23–1 | ||||||||
Hickman worked as ascout for the Cleveland baseball franchise for over a decade.[14] He then became involved in politics and was elected mayor ofMorgantown, West Virginia, the home of West Virginia University, three times.[14] He also served as amagistrate andsheriff.[14]
Hickman had married in 1913, and had three children.[7] He was a fan of movies, highlighted by a 1915 newspaper article during thesilent film era;Marguerite Clark was his favorite actress.[15] Hickman returned to Cleveland for anold-timers' game played on July 29, 1921, along with other former Cleveland players such asNeal Ball,Nap Lajoie,Cy Young, andChief Zimmer.[16]
Hickman died in Morgantown in 1934, apparently from aheart attack.[14] His widow, Pearlnée Taylor, died in 1965.[17]
In 2017, Hickman was inducted to the Sports Hall of Fame at West Virginia University, which noted that he "remains the most prominent player with WVU ties to have played in the major leagues."[18]