Sunday, November 23, 2008

Fred Dunlap, Great 2B of the 1800's


1880-1891, 12 seasons, BA .292 OBP .340 SLG .406
pct vs. league .924 .902
range vs. league 6.31 5.84

"I have seen all the great 2B from Al Reach in the 60's to Lajoie to Evers, and I would easily pronounce Dunlap the greatest.

He never wore a glove and his hands were as small as a woman's but he could handle any sort of throw or hit. Dunlap was ambidextrous. He would run and catch a badly thrown ball as well with his left or right hand and put the ball swiftly on the runner.

When Dunlap was a lad of ten (1869) the baseball craze had begun to spread its wings. Dunlap had neither father nor mother and the people he lived with cared little where he went. So, when he was not eating, he was out on the prairie hitting fungoes or catching the ball. The lad learned nothing but ball playing. He could neither read nor write.

He had the finest features, the nose of an Indian chief and the brown eyes of a beautiful woman. From long service under the sun, he had grown almost almond-skinned. Off the field, he always dressed elegantly.

When Dunlap quit the game, his real life went out. He was never the same afterwards. He died at age 43 in an Alms House. "

The National Game, Alfred Spink, 1911.

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