| Jake Beckley | |
|---|---|
 Beckley in 1894 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born:(1867-08-04)August 4, 1867 Hannibal, Missouri, U.S. | |
| Died: June 25, 1918(1918-06-25) (aged 50) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 20, 1888, for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 15, 1907, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .308 |
| Hits | 2,938 |
| Home runs | 87 |
| Runs batted in | 1,581 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1971 |
| Election method | Veterans Committee |
Jacob Peter Beckley (August 4, 1867 – June 25, 1918), nicknamed "Eagle Eye", was an American professionalbaseballfirst baseman. He played inMajor League Baseball for thePittsburgh Alleghenys,Pittsburgh Burghers,Pittsburgh Pirates,New York Giants,Cincinnati Reds andSt. Louis Cardinals from 1888 to 1907.
Beckley had abatting average of over .300 in 13 seasons. His 244 triples are fourth all time[1] and his 23,767 putouts is a major league record. A career .308 hitter he was elected into theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971 via theVeterans Committee.[2]
Beckley was born inHannibal, Missouri.[3] He was the son of Bernhart and Rosina (Neth) Beckley. Beckley began playingsemi-professional baseball while still a teenager. A former Hannibal teammate, Bob Hart, suggested the 18-year-old Beckley to the Leavenworth Oilers (Leavenworth, Kansas) of the Western Association.[2] After splitting two seasons between Leavenworth and a team inLincoln, Nebraska, Beckley's contract was sold to theSt. Louis Whites in theWestern Association before he was purchased (along withHarry Staley) by thePittsburgh Alleghenys for $4,500 midway through the 1888 season.[4]
After playing one and a half seasons for the Alleghenys, Beckley and eight of his teammates jumped to thePittsburgh Burghers,[4] a team in the newly-formedPlayers' League (PL). ManagerNed Hanlon crossed over, as well. Beckley stated he was willing to go to the PL because "I'm only in this game for the money anyway."[2] The league lasted only one season, and Beckley spent the next five and a half seasons with thePittsburgh Pirates.[4]
On July 25, 1896, Beckley was traded to theNew York Giants forHarry Davis and $1,000.[4] Beckley was released by the Giants the following season on May 22, and signed as afree agent with theCincinnati Reds five days later.[4] In his first season with the Reds, Beckley was unsuccessful in getting rookieHonus Wagner out with the hidden ball trick, a tactic he had been known to use against the opposition. But later when Wagner'sLouisville Colonels came to play at Cincinnati, Beckley was successful in getting Wagner out, employing a strategy that involved the use of two baseballs.[5] Against the St. Louis Browns (since 1900, theSt. Louis Cardinals), Beckley belted threehome runs in the same game on September 26, 1897, a feat not again matched until 1922 byKen Williams.[2] He played with Cincinnati for seven seasons and was later purchased by the Cardinals on February 11, 1904.[4]
Beckley retired after the 1907 season with 2,930 career hits, second only toCap Anson.[6] He continues to rank fourth all-time among major leaguers in triples with 244. As of the 2014 season, Beckley holds the all-time bestbatting average among Pirates first basemen (.300).[7] Beckley holds the MLB record for careerputouts, with 23,743,[8] and ranks second all-time in games played at first base, with 2,376.[8]
After his MLB career ended, Beckley became a player/manager forKansas City in theAmerican Association in 1908–1909,Bartlesville in theWestern Association in 1910, andHannibal in theCentral Association in 1911. He served as anumpire in theFederal League in 1913 and also served as a baseball coach atWilliam Jewell College inLiberty, Missouri. In addition to his umpiring and coaching after retirement from professional play, Beckley operated a grain business in Kansas City.
Beckley married Molly Murphy of Hannibal in 1891,[2] but she died oftuberculosis seven months after their wedding. He later remarried after his playing career concluded.[9] Beckley died ofheart disease[10] inKansas City, Missouri at the age of 50.[3] He was interred at the Riverside Cemetery in Hannibal.[3]
· Baseball Almanac
