1896
Born October 19, 1896
Waukegan, IL, USA
Bob O'Farrell Marquee
b. October 19, 1896 · Chicago Cubs 1915–1925, 1934, St. Louis Cardinals 1925–1928, 1933, 1935, New York Giants 1928–1932, Cincinnati Reds 1934
The 1926 World Series ended with Babe Ruth caught stealing second base, which remains the only time a World Series has finished that way. The throw came from Bob O'Farrell, who had been named National League Most Valuable Player that same season.
O'Farrell caught for twenty-one years, the first ten with the Chicago Cubs, and was regarded as one of the better defensive catchers of the 1920s. St. Louis made him player-manager in 1927, the season after the championship, and he took the club to a second-place finish before being replaced.
Born in Waukegan, Illinois in 1896, he batted .273 with 1,120 hits and drew 547 walks across 1,492 games. He died on February 20, 1988, at ninety-one.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball Magazine All-Star | 1 | 1923 |
| Most Valuable Player | 1 | 1926 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 1926 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | CHC | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| 1916 | CHC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1917 | CHC | 3 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .375 |
| 1918 | CHC | 52 | 113 | 9 | 32 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 10 | 15 | 0 | .283 |
| 1919 | CHC | 49 | 125 | 11 | 27 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 2 | .216 |
| 1920 | CHC | 94 | 270 | 29 | 67 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 34 | 23 | 1 | .248 |
| 1921 | CHC | 96 | 260 | 32 | 65 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 32 | 18 | 14 | 2 | .250 |
| 1922 | CHC | 128 | 392 | 68 | 127 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 60 | 79 | 34 | 5 | .324 |
| 1923 | CHC | 131 | 452 | 73 | 144 | 25 | 4 | 12 | 84 | 67 | 38 | 10 | .319 |
| 1924 | CHC | 71 | 183 | 25 | 44 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 28 | 30 | 13 | 2 | .240 |
| 1925 | CHC/STL | 111 | 339 | 39 | 92 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 35 | 48 | 31 | 0 | .271 |
| 1926 | STL | 147 | 492 | 63 | 144 | 30 | 9 | 7 | 68 | 61 | 44 | 1 | .293 |
| 1927 | STL | 61 | 178 | 19 | 47 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 23 | 22 | 3 | .264 |
| 1928 | NYG/STL | 91 | 185 | 29 | 37 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 47 | 25 | 4 | .200 |
| 1929 | NYG | 91 | 248 | 35 | 76 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 42 | 28 | 30 | 3 | .306 |
| 1930 | NYG | 94 | 249 | 37 | 75 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 54 | 31 | 21 | 1 | .301 |
| 1931 | NYG | 85 | 174 | 11 | 39 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 0 | .224 |
| 1932 | NYG | 50 | 67 | 7 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 0 | .239 |
| 1933 | STL | 55 | 163 | 16 | 39 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 15 | 25 | 0 | .239 |
| 1934 | CHC/CIN | 66 | 190 | 13 | 45 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 14 | 30 | 0 | .237 |
| 1935 | STL | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Career | — | 1492 | 4101 | 517 | 1120 | 201 | 58 | 51 | 549 | 547 | 408 | 35 | .273 |
On this day & linked events
1988
Died February 20, 1988
1915
Major-league debut: Bob O'Farrell
Bob O'Farrell made a major-league debut on September 5, 1915.
1935
Final major-league game: Bob O'Farrell
Bob O'Farrell played a final major-league game on September 23, 1935.
Image: Unknown author Unknown, public domain