Ezra Sutton

Positions: Third Baseman, Shortstop and Outfielder
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
5-8, 153lb (173cm, 69kg)
Born: September 17, 1849 in Seneca Falls, NY us
Died: June 20, 1907  in Braintree, MA
Buried: Palmyra Village Cemetery, Palmyra, NY
Debut: May 4, 1871 ( 1st in major league history)
Last Game: June 20, 1888
Full Name: Ezra Ballou Sutton
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

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Nine Players Who Debuted in 1871

Cap Anson
Al Spalding
Bobby Mathews
Deacon White
Ezra Sutton
Ross Barnes
George Wright
Harry Wright
Levi Meyerle

All-Time Teammate Team

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Notable Events and Chronology

SearchSearch Events, Dates and More Date (Newest)Title (A - Z)

June 12, 1875

Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Stockings at the South End Grounds

June 14, 1876

George Hall and Ezra Sutton both have 3 triples

June 17, 1876

George Hall and Ezra Sutton again gang up on the hapless Reds 23-15

May 8, 1878

Providence Grays centerfielder Paul Hines catches a fly by Jack Burdock and starts a triple play, racing in to touch third base before Jack Manning can return, then throwing to second to nab Ezra Sutton. Some eyewitnesses contend that Sutton had passed third and was out when Hines touched the base, making it the only unassisted triple play by an outfielder. This contradicts the version by Manning, Jim O’Rourke and others present, which has been accepted generally as the correct account.

August 29, 1878

Ezra Sutton hits a walk off homerun his only homerun of the year

January 12, 1883

Boston Base Ball Club, 1883

June 20, 1883

Philadelphia makes 21 errors as Boston mauls them 29-4

August 27, 1887

Mike Kelly and Ezra Sutton score 6 runs each‚ a Major League record for 2 teammates

June 1, 1888

South End Grounds between the Boston Nationals and the New York Giants

June 29, 1888

Beaneaters release vets Ezra Sutton and Jack Burdock

January 12, 1889

1889 Milwaukee Brewers baseball team of the Western Association

Biography

Uncle Ezra, as admiring Boston fans called him, was a power hitter in the bare-handed days. He once hit three consecutive triples in a single game and had respectable numbers for slugging average and total bases. Originally a cross-handed batter (from the righthander’s side of the plate), he adopted the normal grip to enhance his effectiveness against pitchers’ ever-increasing speed.

Essentially a third baseman, he played all infield positions as needed, had a strong throwing arm and unflinching courage facing “fair-foul” hits down the line. Except for a league-leading .908 in 1884, however, his fielding percentages were usually in the .800s. While with the Athletics he made the first error in the first National League game ever played.

A solid contributor to Boston’s 1877, 1878, and 1883 champions, he came to a sad end, dying crippled and impoverished.

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Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

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