Dave Eggler Marquee

b. April 30, 1849 · New York Mutuals 1871–1873, Philadelphia Whites 1874, Philadelphia Athletics 1875, Philadelphia Athletics 1876, Chicago White Stockings 1877, Buffalo Bisons 1879, 1883–1885, Baltimore Orioles 1883

Dave Eggler played center field from the first professional season in 1871, and the rate at which he scored is the striking thing on the record: 491 runs in 576 games, in an era when a leadoff hitter's job was defined mostly by how often he came around.

He was with the New York Mutuals for the National Association's first three years, then Philadelphia, the Chicago White Stockings and Buffalo. He hit no home runs at all across fifteen seasons, which in the 1870s was normal rather than remarkable.

Born in Brooklyn in 1849, Eggler batted .274 with 697 hits and played his last games for Buffalo in 1885. He died on April 5, 1902, three weeks short of fifty-three.

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1871*	NYU	33	147	37	47	7	3	18	4	3	14	.320
1872*	NYU	56	290	94	97	20	0	19	8	9	18	.334
1873*	NYU	53	266	82	90	13	4	35	6	2	3	.338
1874*	PHI	58	299	70	95	13	8	31	5	1	5	.318
1875*	ATH	66	295	66	89	13	7	33	1	10	6	.302
1876	ATH	39	174	28	52	4	0	19	2	4	0	.299
1877	CHC	33	136	20	36	3	0	20	1	5	0	.265
1879	BUF	78	317	41	66	5	7	27	11	41	0	.208
1883	BAL/BUF	91	355	28	76	4	1	20	3	29	0	.214
1884	BUF	63	241	25	47	3	1	20	6	54	0	.195
1885	BUF	6	24	0	2	0	0	0	2	4	0	.083
Major leagues	—	310	1247	142	279	19	9	106	25	137	0	.224
All seasons	—	576	2544	491	697	85	31	242	49	162	46	.274

Seasons outside MLB's recognized major leagues appear in All seasons, but not in Major leagues or the leaderboards. For Dave Eggler, that is 1871–1875. Why totals can differ.

On this day & linked events

1849

Born April 30, 1849

Brooklyn, NY, USA

1902

Died April 5, 1902

1871

Major-league debut: Dave Eggler

Dave Eggler made a major-league debut on May 18, 1871.

1885

Final major-league game: Dave Eggler

Dave Eggler played a final major-league game on June 9, 1885.

Image: Unknown author Unknown, public domain