Bobby Wallace (baseball)
Rhoderick John "Bobby" Wallace (
November 4,
1873 -
November 3,
1960) was a
Major League Baseball pitcher,
infielder,
manager,
umpire and
scout.
Born in
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, Wallace made his major league debut in
1894 as a
starting pitcher with the
Cleveland Spiders. After going 12-14 in
1895, Wallace began seeing time in the outfield as well as on the mound in
1896. In
1897 Wallace's transition to an everyday player was completed as he became the team's full-time
third baseman,
batted .335 and
drove in 112 runs.
In
1899, Wallace moved to the
St. Louis Perfectos (renamed the Cardinals in
1900) and changed position again, this time to
shortstop. He once again had a solid offensive season, hitting .295 with 108 RBI and 12
home runs (second in the league behind
Buck Freeman's 25). Wallace jumped teams again in
1902, when he joined the
St. Louis Browns. His playing time began deteriorating a decade later and he didn't play more than 55 games in any season after
1913. He moved back to the Cardinals in
1917 and retired after the
1918 season. He retired with a .268 batting average, 1059
runs, 34 home runs, 1121 RBI and 201
stolen bases.
Wallace managed and umpired when his playing time diminished. He managed the
1911 and
1912 Cardinals and part of the
1937 Cincinnati Reds season, compiling 62 wins and 154 losses for a .287 winning percentage. Upon retiring, he also became a scout.
Wallace was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in
1953.
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Baseball Hall of Fame biography*
The Deadball Era
