| Sherry Magee | |
|---|---|
 Magee in 1911 | |
| Left fielder | |
| Born:(1884-08-06)August 6, 1884 Clarendon, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| Died: March 13, 1929(1929-03-13) (aged 44) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 29, 1904, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 27, 1919, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .291 |
| Hits | 2,169 |
| Home runs | 83 |
| Runs batted in | 1,176 |
| Stolen bases | 441 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Sherwood Robert "Sherry"Magee (August 6, 1884 – March 13, 1929) was an Americanleft fielder inMajor League Baseball. From 1904 through 1919, Magee played with thePhiladelphia Phillies (1904–1914),Boston Braves (1915–1917) andCincinnati Reds (1917–1919). He batted and threw right-handed and in a 16-season career posted a .291batting average with 83home runs and 1,176runs batted in through 2,087games played.
A native ofClarendon, Pennsylvania, Magee was one of the premier hitters of thedead-ball era. He was picked out by local Phillies scout Jim Randall when he had heard about the exploits of Magee on the local diamond, and it resulted in an impromptu tryout that resulted in a spot for Magee on the Phillies. He started his first game as a left fielder against theBrooklyn Superbas on June 29, 1904.[1]
From 1905 through 1914, Magee finished in theNational League top 10 in home runs and runs batted in (RBI) seven times, including leading theNational League in RBIs four times. He led the league for a fourth time in the1918 campaign, which was shortened by World War I and theSpanish flu pandemic. Magee also hit over .300 five times, including a batting title to his credit as well, while also being known as one of the finest defensive outfielders of his day. He collected 2,169hits and 441stolen bases, including 23 steals of home plate.
Magee would play eleven years with the Phillies while spending the last year as team captain. His 85 RBIs in 1905 were a league high. His most productive season came in 1910, when he led the league in batting (.310), RBIs (123),runs (110),total bases (263),on-base percentage (.445),slugging average (.507) andOPS (.952), and finished second indoubles (39) andtriples (17).
On July 10, 1911, Magee (allegedly drunk[citation needed]) struck umpireBill Finneran as a result of disputing a called third strike, knocking him unconscious, at which he was suspended for the remainder of the season, although on appeal the suspension was shortened to just over a month, 36 games.[2][3]
In 1914 Magee led the league in hits (171), doubles (39), RBIs (103),extra base hits (65),total bases (277) and slugging (.509). A year later, he was traded to the Boston Braves. He remained at Boston until the 1917 midseason, when he was sent to the Cincinnati Reds. In 1918, he led the league in RBIs (76) for the fourth time. In 1919, Magee was seriously ill for two months and he concluded his major league career bypinch-hitting twice during the1919 World Series, which resulted in one hit and a championship for Magee.
Magee later played in theminors and alsoumpired in theNew York–Penn League (1927) and the National League (1928). A victim ofpneumonia, Magee died inPhiladelphia, at age 44.
He is buried atArlington Cemetery inDrexel Hill, Pennsylvania.
In 2008, he was one of ten pre-1943 players to be considered by the Cooperstown Veterans Committee for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
