Billy Hamilton Marquee Hall of Fame 1961

He was a short left-handed leadoff man who got on base by walking about as often as by hitting, then stole the next base. Five times he led his league in walks and five times in steals. He batted .344 for his career on 2,164 hits, and Boston won the pennant in 1897 and again in 1898 with him hitting first.

In 1894 he scored 198 runs in 132 games for Philadelphia and batted .403, and three teammates also finished above .400: Tuck Turner, Sam Thompson, and Ed Delahanty. Accounts of that season differ, and some credit him with fewer runs than the standard record shows.

His 914 stolen bases rank third behind Rickey Henderson and Lou Brock, but the totals are not strictly comparable. Before 1898 a runner could be credited with a steal for taking an extra base on someone else's hit. He played his last game in 1901 and was not elected to the Hall of Fame until 1961, twenty-one years after his death.