| Dan Brouthers | |
|---|---|
 Brouthers in 1887 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born:(1858-05-08)May 8, 1858 Sylvan Lake, New York, U.S. | |
| Died: August 2, 1932(1932-08-02) (aged 74) East Orange, New Jersey, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 23, 1879, for the Troy Trojans | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 4, 1904, for the New York Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .342 |
| Hits | 2,296 |
| Home runs | 106 |
| Runs batted in | 1,296 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1945 |
| Election method | Old-Timers Committee |
Dennis Joseph "Dan"Brouthers (/ˈbruːθərz/;[1] May 8, 1858 – August 2, 1932) was an Americanfirst baseman inMajor League Baseball whose career spanned the period from1879 to1896, with a brief return in1904. Nicknamed "Big Dan" for his size, he was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and weighed 207 pounds (94 kg), which was large by 19th-century standards.[2]
Recognized as the first great slugger in baseball history,[3] and among the greatest sluggers of his era, he briefly held the careerhome run record from1887 to1889,[4] with his final total of 106 tying for the fourth most of the 19th century. His careerslugging percentage of .520 remained the Major League record untilBabe Ruth overtook him in the 1920s. At the time of his initial retirement, he also ranked second in careertriples (205), and third inruns batted in (1,296) andhits.[5]
A dominant hitter during the prime of his career, he led (or was in the top of) the league in most offensive categories, includingbatting average,runs scored, runs batted in (RBI),on-base percentage and hits. He won fivebatting titles – the most of any player in the 19th century – and his career .342 batting average ranks 12th all-time. Brouthers is one of only 31 players in baseball historywho have appeared in Major League games in four decades.
He was also an active players' union member, and was elected vice president of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players. In1945, Brouthers was elected to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.
Brouthers was born inSylvan Lake, New York,[6] to Michael and Annie Brooder,Catholic immigrants from Ireland; upon arriving in New York, Michael Brooder had been recruited toDutchess County to work inopen pit iron mines in the town ofBeekman. Brouthers may have been named afterSaint Denis, as a local Catholic church by that name was founded in the same year.[7]: 4 Brouthers had siblings named Martin, Ellen, and Margaret.[7]: 4–5 The spelling of the family's name gradually shifted fromBrooder toBruder toBrouthers by 1880. The family eventually moved to the nearby hamlet ofFishkill Plains before settling in the village ofWappingers Falls where Michael found safer work at a textile printing mill.[7]: 5
Brouthers played organized baseball beginning in childhood, from playing in the local sandlots[8] to thesemi-professional Actives of Wappingers Falls. On July 7,1877, while running the bases, he collided at home plate with a catcher, named Johnny Quigley, of the Clippers of Harlem. Quigley was knocked unconscious, having suffered a traumatic head injury, and later died from these injuries on August 12. The 19-year-old Brouthers was cleared of any wrongdoing by the authorities.[9]
Brouthers made his Major League debut on June 23,1879, for theTroy Trojans, and contributed asingle in a come-from-behind victory against theSyracuse Stars.[9] Although he was afirst baseman, he was called upon to pitch that season with the Trojans in three games, one of which was on August 21 againstTommy Bond and theBoston Red Caps. Brouthers lost 16–0, and within two weeks he was released from the club.[9] He hit .274 that first season, with four home runs, and had 17 RBIs in 39games played.[6]
After his release, Brouthers played for aminor league team inRochester, New York, and on one occasion in1880, he hit a game-winning home run in an exhibition game versus theBuffalo Bisons, off future Hall of Fame pitcherPud Galvin.[9] He hit well enough in the minors to get another shot with the Trojans, which lasted just three games when he had only two hits in 12at bats, and he was released again.[10]
Brouthers got his first chance to be an everyday player in1881, when he was signed by the Bisons, the team that he did well against the previous year. That season he batted .319, and played with them until the team folded after the1885 season. In his first season with the Bisons, he led theNational League (NL) in home runs andslugging percentage.[9] Brouthers, along with teammatesJack Rowe,Hardy Richardson andDeacon White, became known as the "Big Four".[9] In 1882 and1883 he won his first two batting titles, posting .368 and .374 averages, respectively. Along with his two batting titles, during his time in Buffalo he also led the NL in slugging five times, hits andtotal bases twice each, and triples and RBIs once each,[10] with his 1883 total of 97 RBIs setting a new Major League record;Cap Anson had set the previous mark of 83 the year before, and retook the record the following year with a total of 102. On July 19,1883, Brouthers went 6-for-6 with twodoubles in a 25–5 defeat of thePhiladelphia Quakers.[9]
At the end of the1885 season, Buffalo was going through financial trouble and were forced to sell off their players, so "The Big Four" were sold to theDetroit Wolverines of the NL for US$7,000.[10] In1886, his first season in Detroit, he again led the league in slugging percentage, the sixth year in a row, and led the league in total bases and doubles and claimed his first home run title. He finished within the top 10 in most offensive categories, including a third-place finish in the batting race with a lofty .370 average.[10] On September 10,1886, Brouthers hit three home runs‚ along with a double and a single, to set the NL record with 15 total bases in one game. This mark tied the Major League record at the time, asGuy Hecker of theLouisville Colonels totaled 15 the previous month in theAmerican Association.[9]
The Detroit team was filled with stars from the era, including future Hall of FamersSam Thompson andNed Hanlon, as well assecond basemanFred Dunlap, the "Big Four", and the pitching ofLady Baldwin andCharlie Getzien.[11] The team finished with a record of 87 wins and 36 losses, in second place behind theChicago White Stockings by2+1⁄2 games.[12]
During the off-season, on November 11,1886, The Executive Council of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players‚ formed in 1885 as the first organized players' union, met and re-electedJohn Montgomery Ward as president, and elected Brouthers as vice president.[9]
In1887, with the 1886 roster intact,[13] the Wolverines finished in first place, besting the Quakers by3+1⁄2 games. Brouthers batted .338, and led the league in runs scored with 153, doubles with 36, and on-base percentage, while again finishing in the top 10 in most offensive categories.[10] The Wolverines, behind the bats of Brouthers, Thompson and Richardson, led the League in batting, runs scored and slugging,[14] and went on to face theSt. Louis Browns in a best-of-15 post-season tournament, the "World's Series". The Wolverines sealed a series championship with their eighth victory in 11 games; however, the two teams finished the series anyway, with Detroit winning 10 games to the Browns' five.[9][15] Brouthers only played in one of those games, getting two hits in three at bats.[16]
Following the season, on November 17,1887, members of the NL officially recognized the Brotherhood and met with a Brotherhood committee that consisted of three players – Ward‚ Hanlon and Brouthers.[9]
The1888 Detroit team did not fare as well, finishing in fifth place with a record of 68–63, which was a full 16 games behind the first-placeNew York Giants.[17] Brouthers' numbers declined as well, as he did not produce at the same level of his previous seasons. Even with the lower numbers, he still led the league in runs scored with 118, and doubles for the third year in a row.[10] The team's decline is attributed to prolonged injuries sustained by key players, while turmoil that unfolded concerning veteran stars' salary demands, and with falling attendance numbers, the club was forced to fold at the season's end.[14] Brouthers was then purchased by theBoston Beaneaters of the NL on October 16.[10]
In1889, his only season with the Beaneaters, he batted a league-leading .373, along with 105 runs scored and 118 runs batted in; hestruck out only six times.[10] The first strikeout occurred on June 11 againstMickey Welch of the Giants.[9]
After the season, he – along with many Major League players – jumped to thePlayers' League, a league established by the Brotherhood which competed against the two other Major Leagues already in existence.[18] Brouthers signed with theBoston Reds, and batted .330 while leading the league in on-base percentage and slugging.[6] The Reds, behind the talents of Brouthers,Harry Stovey, Hardy Richardson,Charles Radbourn andplayer-managerKing Kelly,[19] finished in first place,6+1⁄2 games ahead of theBrooklyn Ward's Wonders.[20]
The Players' League lasted just the one season, and the Reds merged into the American Association, carrying many of the championship team's previous players.[21] Again, the team won the league's championship, finishing8+1⁄2 games ahead of the St. Louis Browns.[22] Brouthers led the league in batting average (.350), on-base percentage and slugging, while finishing second in triples with 19, sixth in doubles with 26, and third in RBIs with 109.[10]
After the American Association folded following the1891 season, Brouthers was sent to theBrooklyn Grooms of the NL,[10] where he played two seasons. Most of his success came in that first season, when he led the league in batting average, hits, RBIs and total bases.[10] For the1893 season, he played in only 77 of the team's games, but did well, hitting .337.[10] After the season, Brouthers was traded along withWillie Keeler to theBaltimore Orioles forBilly Shindle andGeorge Treadway.[9]
This trade brought in two future Hall of Fame players, which added to the already established Orioles core of players includingthird basemanJohn McGraw, catcherWilbert Robinson,shortstopHughie Jennings, andcenter fielderJoe Kelley, all future Hall of Fame members.[23] The Orioles won the league's championship that season, and it was Brouthers' last full season in the majors, as he again produced great numbers, batting .347, finishing seventh in total bases, fifth in RBIs (128), fourth in doubles (39), and fifth in triples (23).[10]
During his career, and most notably during his time in Baltimore, he was known to always have his dog, anIrish setter named Kelly, and had him sit in the players' area. It is claimed that the players never minded much, as he was very well-behaved and never left the area to run out on the field or made much noise.[24]
Early in the1895 season, Baltimore sold Brouthers to theLouisville Colonels for $500, as his skills seemed to have diminished, and he only played in 24 of Louisville's games that season; he came back to hit .309 for them, ending the year with a .300 overall mark.[10] Following the season, Louisville sold him to thePhiladelphia Phillies for $500, where he played in 57 games in1896, batting .344.[10] It was his last season in the majors until he appeared for the1904New York Giants, where he was hitless in a two-game stint before retiring.[10]
Brouthers is still among the all-time leaders in many offensive categories. His .342 batting average ranks ninth, 205 triples ranks eighth, and his .423 on-base percentage ranks 15th.[10] He is tied withMike Tiernan for fourth among 19th-century home run hitters with a total of 106, behindRoger Connor (138), Sam Thompson (127), and Stovey (122).[25]
Brouthers playedminor league baseball for the1898Toronto Maple Leafs of theEastern League, where he won a batting title with a .415 average.[2] Later he played for thePoughkeepsie Colts of theHudson River League, batting a league-leading .373 at age 46.[8]
He remained near baseball for many years, working for his former teammate and New York Giantsmanager John McGraw, who placed him in charge of thePolo Grounds press gate.[2] He was with the Giants for nearly 20 years in this and other capacities.[8]
OnNew Year's Eve in 1884, Brouthers married Mary Ellen Croak, an Irish immigrant to New York and fellow Catholic, at St. Mary's in Wappingers Falls. They had four children together and were married for 48 years until his death.[7]
Brouthers died at the age of 74 at his home inEast Orange, New Jersey, and is interred atSt. Mary's Church Cemetery in Wappingers Falls, New York.[8][6] There is a statue dedicated to him located in Veteran's Park in the same village.[26] In1945, Brouthers and several other stars of the era prior to 1910 were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.[2][3] In honor of his achievements in Buffalo, he was inducted into the newly formedBuffalo Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.[27] In 1999, a survey of theSociety for American Baseball Research ranked him as the sixth-greatest player of the 19th century.[28]
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Career home run record holders 1887–1888 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
