Kid Elberfeld Stats & Facts

Player

Kid Elberfeld Essentials

Positions:
Bats: R Throws: R
67 Weight: 158
Born: 4 13, 1875 in Pomeroy, OH USA
Died: 1 13 1944 in Chattanooga, TN USA
Debut: 1898-05-30
Last Game: 9/24/1914
Full Name: Norman Arthur Elberfeld

Norman “Kid” Elberfeld (1875-1944) was a tenacious, combative shortstop for 6 different teams during a 14-year MLB career, his longest tenure being with the NY Highlanders (1903-’09) which he also managed in 1908. Elberfeld played his first full MLB season with Detroit in 1900, and became the Tigers’ first
.300 hitter (.308 with 11 triples and 76 RBI’s) in their inaugural AL campaign. Traded to NY in 1903, Elberfeld led the Highlanders to a 3-2 victory over the A’s Rube Waddell on Aug. 20, collecting all 4 hits and driving in all 3 runs. From 1904-’06, the Kid put up the best offensive numbers of any AL shortstop
(.275 BA, with an on base plus slugging percentage of .688), and it was in NY where he earned his nickname, “The Tabasco Kid” with his aggressive shortstop play and frequent battles with umpires. Elberfeld welcomed contact when turning the doubleplay, slamming his knee into Ty Cobb’s head when the Detroit great attempted a headfirst slide: “Ty found out my feet were harder than his head. Then he started coming in spikes first.” The Kid was spiked so often he took to wearing a whalebone shinguard. His fights with umpires culminated with a physical confrontation in 1906 with Silk O’Loughlin that resulted in an 8-game suspension. The 5’7″ 158 lb. Elberfeld yielded no ground at the plate either, leading the league in HBP twice. His 1911 total of 35 was not topped until 1986 by Don Baylor. After his MLB career ended, Elberfeld continued to play and manage in the minors until 1936. He also trained his 5 daughters to excel in multiple sports, and exhibited them throughout his native Tennessee and the south as “The Elberfeld Girls.”