Frank Chance Stats & Facts
Frank Chance
Positions: First Baseman, Catcher and Rightfielder
Bats: Right • Throws: Right
6-0, 190lb (183cm, 86kg)
Born: September 9, 1876 in Fresno, CA
Died: September 15, 1924 in Los Angeles, CA
Buried: Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA
High School: Fresno HS (Fresno, CA)
Debut: April 29, 1898 (2,055th in MLB history)
Last Game: April 21, 1914
vs. WSH 0 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1946. (Voted by Old Timers Committee)
Induction ceremony in Cooperstown held in 1947.
Full Name: Frank Leroy Chance
Nicknames: Husk or The Peerless Leader
Players Who Debuted Sin 1899
Sam Crawford
Joe McGinnity
Noodles Hahn
Jack Chesbro
Roy Thomas
Bill Bradley
Freddy Parent
Deacon Phillippe
Jimmy Williams
All-Time Teammate Team
C: Johnny Kling
1B: Fred Luderus
2B: Johnny Evers
3B: Harry Steinfeldt
SS: Joe Tinker
LF: Jimmy Sheckard
CF: Jimmy Slagle
RF: Frank Schulte
SP: Mordecai Brown
SP: Ed Reulbach
SP: Jack Pfiester
SP: Orval Overall
RP: Ray Fisher
M: Frank Selee
Notable Events and Chronology for Frank Chance Career
Frank Chance, the “Peerless Leader.” Perhaps the most respected man in the game during his time, Chance helmed one of baseball’s greatest ships: The 1906–1910 Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs, with Joe Tinker, John Evers, and Chance (and superb pitching led by Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown), win four pennants and two World Series in five years, compiling the highest one-, two-, three-, four- and five-year winning percentages in baseball history (with the 1906 club famously going 116–36, for a .763 winning percentage). Much of the credit is given to Chance, who in addition to managing the club was also among the best first basemen in the game. His exploits placed him among the most famous and revered personalities in professional sport.
Far-and-away the best hitter of the famed “Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance
The Peerless Leader’s time in Chicago met a callous, ignoble end in 1912: Despite leading a depleted squad to a fine 91-59 record (good for a third-place finish), Chance is fired while lying prostrate in a hospital bed, recovering from brain surgery (the result of multiple beanings). Team owner Charles W. Murphy replaces Chance with teammate John Evers—who lasts all of one season as manager before Murphy fires him (and subsequently slanders Evers in an attempt to avoid paying the remainder of his contract).
Chance would recover from his grievous injuries and return to the dugout to manage the Yankees (19313-1914) and Red Sox (1923) for three desultory seasons. He died in 1924, after battling a range of illness possibly related to a bout of severe influenza. He was 47.
Chance was posthumously inducted into the HOF with teammates Tinker and Evers in 1946.
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Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts
Jack Chesbro won 41 games in 1904, but it was his 12th loss that everyone remembered. On the final day of the season, the Highlanders (later to become the Yankees), were trailing the Puritans (later the Red Sox) by a game and a half, with a doubleheader scheduled. Chesbro started the first contest and was battling in a tie game when his wild pitch (some claimed passed ball) allowed the winning run to score. The New Yorkers never came as close to a pennant in their next 16 seasons.
Best Season, 1904
He led the AL in wins (41), games, innings, and complete games. His 41 wins were 45% of the New Yorkers total for that season. The team finished one game out of first place.
Transactions
Claimed on waivers by Boston Red Sox from New York Highlanders (September 11, 1909).
Data courtesy of Restrosheet.org
Pitchers who hit a Homer on their Birthday
Since 1900, only a handful of pitchers have hit a home run on their birthday. Here’s the complete list, which features Hall of Famers Chesbro and Kid Nichols. Randy Wolf, 8/22/2002 Bob Knepper, 5/25/1979 Don Drysdale, 7/23/1965 Jack Harshman, 7/12/1956 Turk Lown, 5/30/1956 Bubba Church, 9/12/1952 Bob Hooper, 5/30/1950 Freddie Fitzsimmons, 7/26/1930 Jack Scott, 4/18/1923 Howie Camnitz, 8/22/1910 Jack Chesbro , 6/5/1906 Chief Bender, 5/5/1906 Kid Nichols, 9/14/190
No Fluke
Chesbro is often cited as a one-year wonder, but he was more than that, winning twenty games five times, and 19 once. He posted a .600 winning percentage on teams that were .532 when others were pitching.
Best Strength as a Player
In his prime he was very durable.
Largest Weakness as a Player
Chesbro was not a great fielding pitcher. He once made 12 errors in a single season, and he committed 56 errors in his career, or one every seven games.
Other Resources & Links
View Frank Chance’s Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos).
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
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