Blondie Purcell
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| Blondie Purcell | ||
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| Outfielder | ||
| Born: March 16, 1854 | ||
| Died: Unknown | ||
| Batted: Right | Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | ||
| May 1, 1879 for the Syracuse Stars |
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| Final game | ||
| September 16, 1890 for the Philadelphia Athletics |
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| Career statistics | ||
| Batting average | .267 | |
| Hits | 1,217 | |
| Runs | 767 | |
| Teams | ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
William Aloysius "Blondie'" Purcell was born on March 16, 1854 in Paterson, New Jersey, and was a Major League Baseball player for total of 12 seasons while playing for eight different teams in two leagues. He played in 1097 games, mainly in the outfield, but did pitch in 79 games throughout his career, as well as other infield positions.
On June 6, 1882, when playing for Buffalo, he was fined $10 for slicing open a soggy baseball. He did this to compel the umpire to put a fresh ball in play so his pitcher, Pud Galvin, would be able to throw his curveball.[1]
In 1883 he was the player-manager for the Philadelphia Quakers. He took the reins of the team after just 14 games, when they were only 4-13 under player-manager Bob Ferguson, and finished the season with an equally dismall 17-81 record. The 8th place Quakers finished 23 games behind the 7th place Detroit Wolverines. Blondie never managed another major league game.[2]
Purcell is one of the few players in major league history whose death is not documented by either SABR (the Society for American Baseball Research), although according to Find A Grave he has a death date of February 20, 1912, and is buried in Greenmount Cemetery located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Baseball Reference - Career Statistics
- Find-a-Grave profile
| Preceded by Bob Ferguson |
Philadelphia Quakers Manager 1883 |
Succeeded by Harry Wright |
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