Earl Sheely Stats & Facts
VINTAGE BASEBALL MEMORABILIA
Earl Sheely
Position: First Baseman
Bats: Right • Throws: Right
6-3, 195lb (190cm, 88kg)
Born: February 12, 1893 in Bushnell, IL
Died: September 16, 1952 in Seattle, WA
Buried: East Lawn Memorial Park, Sacramento, CA
Debut: April 14, 1921 ( 5,233rd in major league history)
vs. DET 3 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: September 27, 1931
vs. PHI 3 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Rookie Status: Exceeded rookie limits during 1921 season
Full Name: Earl Homer Sheely
Nicknames: Whitey
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
Relatives: Father of Bud Sheely
Notable Events and Chronology
Biography
Earl Sheely had a .300 lifetime major league batting average in nine seasons in the big leagues. He spent most of that time with the Chicago White Sox, for whom he was the Opening Day clean-up hitter in 1921 and 1924-26.
Biography:
Earl Sheely born in Bushnell, Illinois, was a big, slow first baseman with a knack for driving in runs, twice topping 100. He also hit over .300 four times in nine seasons. Although he was criticized for slow play in the field, he was surehanded and led AL first basemen in fielding in 1926 and NL first basemen in 1929.
Sheely went to the White Sox after the Black Sox Scandal, but the person he replaced at first base, Shano Collins, was not one of those banned. Collins was traded to Boston in early 1921 for Hall of Fame outfielder, Harry Hooper.
His best season was 1925, he finished 6th in voting for the 1925 American League MVP for playing in 153 Games and having 600 At Bats, 93 Runs, 189 Hits, 43 Doubles, 3 Triples, 9 Home Runs, 111 RBI, 3 Stolen Bases, 68 Walks, .315 Batting Average, .389 On-base percentage, .442 Slugging Percentage, 265 Total Bases and 26 Sacrifice Hits.
In 9 seasons he played in 1,234 Games and had 4,471 At Bats, 572 Runs, 1,340 Hits, 244 Doubles, 27 Triples, 48 Home Runs, 747 RBI, 33 Stolen Bases, 563 Walks, .300 Batting Average, .383 On-base percentage, .399 Slugging Percentage, 1,782 Total Bases and 189 Sacrifice Hits, currently ranks 92nd on the MLB Career Sacrifice Hits List (189).
After his playing days, Sheely was a scout for the Boston Red Sox (1935-1943), a manager for the Sacramento Solons (1944-1946), and was general manager of the Seattle Rainiers prior to his death (1947-1952). He also served as baseball coach at St. Mary’s College of California. In 1943 Sheely was elected to the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame. He suffered a heart attack and later died of a “heart ailment” at age 59.
His son, Bud Hollis, played briefly for the White Sox in the early 1950s.
Led league in HR: 1914 Western Tri-State League (11), 1918 Pacific Coast League (12), 1919 Pacific Coast League (28), 1920 Pacific Coast League (33)
Led league in BA: 1920 Pacific Coast League .371, 1930 Pacific Coast League .403
Led league in RBI: 1930 Pacific Coast League 180
Earl Sheely
one of baseball’s unknown greats, Earl Sheely, first baseman for the 1929 Pirates. He was a star player in the Pacific Coast League prior to making his MLB debut in 1921. In Sheely’s first six seasons in the majors he hit at least .296 every year and drove in 80+ runs each season while playing for the White Sox. He struggled through the 1927 season and decided to return to the PCL where he hit .381 with 21 homers in 1928. The Pirates picked him up in the Rule 5 draft and in his only season with the Pirates he hit .293 with 75 walks and 88 RBIs. The Pirates picked up slugger Gus Suhr in the off-season to play first base and sent Sheely back to the PCL. Suhr went on to play ten seasons with the Pirates and is considered by some to be the best first baseman in team history. Sheely hit .403 in the PCL in 1930 with 29 homers. He played one more season in the majors with the Braves in 1931 before finishing his career in the PCL in 1934. Under the current system of baseball a player like Sheely would’ve had a long productive, possibly Hall of Fame career, but back then players could make a good living in the PCL and some chose to stay there instead of playing in the majors away from home. The PCL wasn’t as good as the majors, but it wasn’t far off either. Sheely was a .324 minor league hitter in 1,935 games and a .300 hitter in 1,234 major league games. He had over 3,600 hits between the two levels and he accumulated 670 doubles and over 200 homers. His son Bud Sheely played three seasons in the majors with the White Sox.
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