| Ripper Collins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born:(1904-03-30)March 30, 1904 Altoona, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| Died: April 15, 1970(1970-04-15) (aged 66) New Haven, New York, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 18, 1931, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 28, 1941, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .296 |
| Home runs | 135 |
| Runs batted in | 659 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
James Anthony "Ripper" Collins (March 30, 1904 – April 15, 1970) was an American professionalbaseball player,coach andscout. He played inMajor League Baseball as afirst baseman for theSt. Louis Cardinals,Chicago Cubs, and thePittsburgh Pirates. Aswitch hitter who threwleft-handed, Collins was listed as 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall and weighed 165 pounds (75 kg), during his playing days. Despite his stature, he was a power hitter who in1934 co-led theNational League (NL) with 35home runs (HR).
The nickname "Ripper" developed during an on-field incident that occurred when Jimmy was a young player. A ball rocketed off his bat and struck a nail protruding from the outfield fence; it caused the cover to partially tear. When asked who hit the ball, the retrieving outfielder saw the ball hanging and said, "It was the ripper."[1]
Born inAltoona, Pennsylvania, Collins grew up in nearbyNanty Glo, where he was a standout in sandlot baseball, in his youth.[2] He started hisMinor League Baseball career in 1923, playing in various leagues for eight seasons. Then, in 1930, Collins hit .376 with 40 HR for theRochester Red Wings of theInternational League (IL). His 180runs batted in (RBI) set an IL record.
For that performance, Collins was called up to the big league St. Louis Cardinals, in 1931. As a member of theGashouse Gang Cardinals teams, Collins had a breakout season in 1934 with 35 homers (sharing the league's long-ball championship with futureBaseball Hall of FamerMel Ott), 128 RBI, and a .333batting average (BA). That year, he also hit .367 in theWorld Series, which the Cardinals won in seven games.
Collins is the only first baseman to have twice recorded no putouts in a nine-inning game – once for the 1935 Cardinals and again for the 1937 Chicago Cubs.[3][4] Between his time with the Cubs and the Pirates, Collins spent two years with theLos Angeles Angels, playing in 346 games, during that time.
In 1,084games played, Collins compiled a .296 BA (1,121 for 3,784), with 615runs scored, 135 HR, and 659 RBI with 205doubles, 65triples and 356bases on balls. Hison-base percentage (OBP) was .360, with a .492slugging percentage (SLG). Collins hit better than .300 four times in a nine-year major league career. In 13 World Series games, he batted .277 (13 for 47). Defensively, Collins recorded a .991 regular seasonfielding percentage.
Collins played in thePacific Coast League andEastern League, after his big league career was over. In 1944, he was named Minor League Player of the Year as theplayer-manager of theAlbany Senators of the Eastern League. That season — at the age of 40 — Collins hit .396 with a league-leading 40doubles.
Collins returned to the major leagues as a member of the Cubs'College of Coaches from 1961–63, and was ascout for the Cardinals at the time of his death (in 1970, at age 66).