Harry Stovey

Positions: Outfielder and First Baseman
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
5-11, 175lb (180cm, 79kg)
Born: December 20, 1856 in Philadelphia, PA
Died: September 20, 1937  in New Bedford, MA
Buried: Oak Grove Cemetery, New Bedford, MA
Debut: May 1, 1880 (451st in major league history)
Last Game: July 29, 1893
Full Name: Harry Duffield Stovey
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

Nine Players Who Debuted in 1880

Tim Keefe
Roger Connor
Mickey Welch
Old Hoss Radbourn
Buck Ewing
Harry Stovey
Fred Dunlap
Arlie Latham
Larry Corcoran

All-Time Teammate Team

Coming Soon

Vintage Baseball HOT ON EBAY
Card Collections ENDING SOON ON EBAY
MOST WANTED ROOKIE CARDS
VINTAGE SPORTS TICKETS
Baseball Hall of Famers

Notable Events and Chronology for Harry Stovey

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

September 19, 1877

Young Harry Stovey of the Athletics shuts out St. Louis‚ 6-0‚ on 2 hits. Stovey will become a star slugger‚ not pitcher‚ in the next decade.

October 7, 1879

Worcester beats Providence‚ 4-3‚ giving pitcher Richmond a 7-2 record versus NL teams for the season. Harry Stovey‚ having been signed with Worcester for 1880‚ makes his debut.

July 17, 1880

Rookie Harry Stovey hits his first homerun‚ connecting off Jim McCormick 

September 17, 1880

Harry Stovey hits a leadoff home run‚ his second of the week‚ to start Worcester towards a 3-1 win over Troy.

September 21, 1880

 Harry Stovey hits a pair of homer runs to take the league lead with 6. Harry adds a single and double as Worcester beats Troy’s Mickey Welch‚ 17-2.

August 17, 1881

Worcester suspends its captain‚ Mike Dorgan‚ and Harry Stovey takes over the post. Lee Richmond‚ who had quit because of conflicts with Dorgan‚ rejoins the team.

August 18, 1883

The Athletics defeat Columbus‚ 19-5‚ with 5 hits by Harry Stovey.

August 18, 1884

Harry Stovey’s 3 triples and 2 singles contribute to Philadelphia’s 20-1 pounding of Baltimore (AA). Two of his triples come in the 8th inning.

August 15, 1885

Athletics manager Lon Knight is fired and temporarily replaced by 1B Harry Stovey; former Athletics manager Charlie Mason is eventually hired as his replacement.

September 28, 1885

Philadelphia’s Harry Stovey hits his AA-leading 13th HR off Pittsburgh’s John Hofford. This is also Stovey’s 51st career HR‚ which is the current ML record.

October 15, 1886

The AA season ends with 2 games in Philadelphia. Harry Stovey hits a HR to give him at least a share of the Association leadership for the 4th consecutive season.

June 30, 1887

Athletics manager Frank Bancroft is given a 3-day vacation to be with his ailing son. Before the month is over‚ however‚ he will be officially fired. Captain Harry Stovey is in charge of the team on the field and no new manager will be hired.

October 2, 1889

King Kelly shows up drunk and is taken by the police when he threatens umpire McQuade. Without him‚ Boston loses 7-1 and falls behind New York‚ which wins 6-3. Sam Thompson of the Phillies hits his 20th HR of the season. The AA HR leader‚ Harry Stovey‚ hits 19 this season‚ considered a greater achievement because of the bigger parks in the AA.

July 23, 1890

Harry Stovey‚ the leading slugger of the Boston Players’ League club‚ hits his 100th career home run. He is the first ML player to attain this milestone. Boston rolls over Chicago‚ 22-5.

February 5, 1891

Harry Stovey‚ who played with the A’s in 1899‚ and like Lou Bierbauer‚ was not claimed by that club through a clerical error‚ signs with the Boston NL club for 1891.

February 14, 1891

The Birth of the Pirates: A Legacy Forged in Dispute

June 30, 1891

In a 4-1 10-inning loss at Brooklyn‚ Boston’s Harry Stovey strikes out 5 times versus George Hemming. No Brave will fan five times in a game until Bob Sadowski matches Stovey on April 20‚ 1964.

August 21, 1891

George Hemming‚ who fanned Harry Stovey 5 times on June 30th‚ fans Stovey 4 times today as the Bridegrooms beat the Beaneaters‚ 8-1.

July 3, 1892

Baltimore signs Harry Stovey‚ released by Boston.

July 21, 1892

Harry Stovey smacks 3 triples and drives in 6 runs in the Orioles’ 10-3 win over Pittsburgh.

August 12, 1892

1892 – The Orioles remove outfield posts‚ around which ropes holding back overflow crowds would be wrapped‚ after a ball hit by Harry Stovey strikes a post and bounces back toward the infield‚ forcing Stovey to stop at second base. Another factor in the decision is an incident three days ago in which Oriole RF Frank “Piggy” Ward missed a sure catch when he ran upon a post. It doesn’t help today as visiting Philadelphia wins‚ 9 – 6.

August 12, 1892

The Orioles remove OF posts‚ around which ropes holding back overflow crowds would be wrapped‚ after a ball hit by Harry Stovey strikes a post and bounces back toward the infield‚ forcing Stovey to stop at 2B. Another factor in the decision was an incident 3 days ago in which Oriole RF Frank “Piggy” Ward missed a sure catch when he ran upon a post. It doesn’t help today as visiting Philadelphia wins‚ 9-6.

June 3, 1895

Roger Connor becomes the ML’s all-time HR leader

April 1, 1964

Bob Sadowski sets a Braves franchise record of striking out 5 times in a game

August 14, 2021

All Time Greatest Left-fielders

Biography

Stovey combined slugging power with great running speed and a strong arm. He was the first to wear sliding pads and among the first to slide feet first. A home run hitter in the dead-ball era, he led his league in homers six times, with a personal high of 19 in 1889. He led in hits twice, doubles once, triples three times, runs four times, batting (.404 in 1884) and stolen bases (97 in 1890) once each. Gentlemanly and articulate in an age when few ballplayers were, he played as Stovey rather than Stowe (his real name) so that his mother would not see his name in box scores.

@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@

Vintage Baseball HOT ON EBAY
Card Collections ENDING SOON ON EBAY
MOST WANTED ROOKIE CARDS
VINTAGE SPORTS TICKETS
Baseball Hall of Famers

Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

Coming soon

Coming Soon 

If you would like to add a link or add information for player pages, please contact us here.