| Duffy Lewis | |
|---|---|
_LCCN2016884277_(cropped).jpg) Lewis in 1915 | |
| Left fielder | |
| Born:(1888-04-18)April 18, 1888 San Francisco, California, U.S. | |
| Died: June 17, 1979(1979-06-17) (aged 91) Salem, New Hampshire, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 16, 1910, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 6, 1921, for the Washington Senators | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .284 |
| Home runs | 38 |
| Runs batted in | 791 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
George Edward "Duffy"Lewis (April 18, 1888 – June 17, 1979) was an American professionalbaseballleft fielder who played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theBoston Red Sox, theNew York Yankees, and theWashington Senators from 1910 to 1921.
Lewis attendedSaint Mary's College of California. He made his MLB debut with the Red Sox in 1910, where he formed theGolden Outfield withTris Speaker andHarry Hooper. He won threeWorld Series championships with Boston (1912,1915, and1916). The Red Sox traded Lewis to the Yankees, where he played in 1919 and 1920, before they traded him to the Senators before the 1921 season. He continued to play and manage in the minor leagues until 1929.
Lewis continued to work in baseball as acoach for theBoston Braves from 1931 to 1935, and then as their traveling secretary through 1961. Lewis is a member of theBoston Red Sox Hall of Fame and thePacific Coast League Hall of Fame.
George Edward Lewis was born to Mary (née Duffy) and George Lewis on April 18, 1888, inSan Francisco, California. He acquired his nickname from his mother'smaiden name. He had an older brother and an older sister.[1] When Lewis was seven years old, he served as themascot for the local baseball team inAlameda, California.[2]
Lewis attendedSaint Mary's College of California before making hisprofessional baseball debut with theAlameda Grays of theCalifornia State League in 1907. He played for theOakland Oaks of thePacific Coast League (PCL) in 1908 and 1909.[1] He also played winter baseball inYuma, Arizona,[3] where he was first noticed byBoston Red Sox ownerJohn I. Taylor.[1] In September 1909, the Red Sox selected Lewis from Oakland in theRule 5 draft. He finished the 1909 season with Oakland, and reported tospring training with the Red Sox in 1910.[4]
Lewis became the Red Sox startingleft fielder in 1910.Harry Hooper, who had played left field for the Red Sox, became theright fielder.[5] Along with Hooper andcenter fielderTris Speaker, Lewis played in theGolden Outfield from 1910 to 1915.[6] In his rookie season, Lewisbatted .283 with eighthome runs, second-most in theAmerican League, and 29doubles, third-most in the league.[1][7] In 1911, he batted .307 with seven home runs,[8] In 1912, he batted .284 with six home runs.[9] His 109runs batted in (RBIs) were the second-most in the league.[1] The Red Sox won the American League championship, and defeated theNew York Giants in the1912 World Series in eight games. Lewis batted .188 (6-for-32) in the series.[10]
In 1913, Lewis batted .298 with no home runs.[11]Babe Ruth made his major league debut on July 11, 1914, and Lewispinch hit for Ruth during the game.[1] He was the only player to pinch hit for Ruth during the latter's major league career.[12] Lewis finished the 1914 season with a .278 batting average.[13] In 1915, Lewis batted .291 with 31 doubles,[14] which was the second-most in the league.[15] The Red Sox faced thePhiladelphia Phillies in the1915 World Series, and won in five games. Lewis batted .444 (8-for-18) against the Phillies.[16] He also recorded five out of the 12 RBIs in the series for Boston.[1] He drove in the game-winningruns in both Games 3 and 4, and made several catches that helped Boston win the series.[17][18] After the World Series, Lewis returned to theSan Francisco Bay Area, where he performedvaudeville shows at the Pantanges Theatre in Oakland for $500 a week ($15,541 in current dollar terms).[19][20]
The Red Sox traded Speaker to theCleveland Indians in 1916, and BostonmanagerBill Carrigan experimented with playing Lewis in center field before returning him to left field.[1] The Red Sox repeated as American League champions in 1916, with Lewis batting .268.[21] In the1916 World Series, the Red Sox defeated theBrooklyn Robins in five games; Lewis batted .353 (6-for-17).[22] Lewis batted .302 for the Red Sox in 1917;[23] it was the ninth-highest batting average in the league that season.[24]
Lewis did not play for the Red Sox during the 1918 season due to his service in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War I.[25] He enlisted as ayeoman and was stationed at theMare Island Naval Shipyard, where he was theplayer-manager for the shipyard's baseball team.[26] He became achief petty officer before the end of his service.[27]
On December 18, 1918, the Red Sox traded Lewis, along withDutch Leonard andErnie Shore, to theNew York Yankees forRay Caldwell,Frank Gilhooley,Slim Love,Roxy Walters and $15,000 ($313,573 in current dollar terms).[28] He batted .272 with seven home runs for the Yankees in 1919, while leading the American League with 141games played.[29] He began to lose playing time in 1920 following the major league debut ofBob Meusel and the acquisition of Ruth from Boston, but Lewis still batted .271 in 107 games played.[1][30] On December 31, 1920, the Yankees traded Lewis andGeorge Mogridge to theWashington Senators forBraggo Roth.[31] Lewis batted .186 in 27 games for Washington before he was released in June.[1]
After he was released from the Washington Senators, Lewis signed with theSalt Lake City Bees of the PCL for the remainder of the 1921 season.[32] He led the PCL with a .403 batting average in 1921. He served as player-manager for Salt Lake City from 1922 through 1924.[1] While he was with Salt Lake City, the Red Sox hired him to serve as ascout based in theWestern United States.[33] Lewis was the player-manager for thePortland Beavers of the PCL for the 1925 season, and for theMobile Bears of theSouthern Association for the 1926 season.[34][35] Disappointed with the team's performance, Lewis resigned from Mobile in June 1926.[36] He finished the 1926 season as a left fielder for theJersey City Skeeters of theInternational League.[37] In 1927, he was player-manager for thePortland Eskimos of theNew England League, and they won the league championship that season.[38] He retired as a player after the 1927 season, but remained as Portland's manager in the 1928 season.[39] He began the 1929 season managing Portland, but resigned in June, citing poor health.[40]
Lewis led all American League left fielders inassists in 1910 (30),[41] 1911 (27),[42] 1912 (23),[43] and 1913 (26).[44] He finished his major league career with 209 assists, the third-most among major league left fielders behindJimmy Sheckard (243) andZach Wheat (231).[45] Lewis also led all American League left fielders indouble plays turned in 1910 (eight), and inputouts in 1910 (264)[42] and 1912 (300).[43] His .985fielding percentage was the ninth-best for all American League outfielders in 1919.[46]
At bat, Lewis was a line-drive hitter who was often thecleanup hitter in thebatting order. He was considered to be aclutch hitter.[47] In 11 seasons, Lewis batted .284 with 38 home runs, 793 RBIs, 1,518hits, 289 doubles, and 68triples.[48]
In 1912, the Red Sox moved intoFenway Park, which featured a 10-foot (3.0 m) high mound that formed an incline in front of the 25-foot (7.6 m) left field wall, now better known as theGreen Monster. Lewis practiced catching the ball on the way up the incline and throwing the ball while descending. He mastered fielding on the incline to such an extent that it became known as "Duffy's Cliff".[1] Sports cartoons of the period often depicted him as a mountain climber making catches amid sheep and snowcaps. The mound was removed during renovations of Fenway Park conducted in 1934.[49]
Lewis had invested his money in the stock market, and lost it in thestock market crash of 1929, compelling him to return to baseball.[1][50] He became acoach for theBoston Braves in 1931.[51] He coached the Braves through 1935. Ruth played with the Braves in 1935, and Lewis witnessed Ruth's final major league home run, much as he had witnessed Ruth's first home run with the Red Sox.[12] He became the Braves' traveling secretary in 1936, and always insisted onfirst class travel.[52] Lewis stayed with the organization through their relocation toMilwaukee. He retired from the Braves in 1961.[1][53]
Lewis married Eleanor Ruth Keane of Boston, a fan that he met at theHuntington Avenue Grounds, after the 1911 season.[54] They did not have children.[1] Together, they built a house inBoyes Hot Springs, California,[55] but the house and their possessions were destroyed in a fire in 1923.[56]
After his baseball career, Lewis and his wife retired toSalem, New Hampshire, where he hadVIPbox seats atRockingham Park.[12] Eleanor died in 1976.[48]
Lewis died in Salem on June 17, 1979.[48] He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery inLondonderry, New Hampshire. As he had no money or living relatives, he was buried in an unmarked grave. When some volunteer caretakers found out about this, they began to raise money for one, with the Red Sox contributing. Aheadstone was dedicated in June 2001.[57]
Lewis was inducted into theBoston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002 and into thePCL Hall of Fame in 2012.[58]
· Baseball Almanac
