Kid Elberfeld Marquee

b. April 13, 1875 · Philadelphia Phillies 1898, Cincinnati Reds 1899, Detroit Tigers 1901–1903, New York Highlanders 1903–1909, Washington Senators 1910–1911, Brooklyn Robins 1914

Kid Elberfeld was five foot seven, played shortstop for fourteen seasons, and spent a good part of that time in physical arguments with umpires, opponents and occasionally spectators. He was called the Tabasco Kid, and he was suspended more than once for what the newspapers of the day described in some detail.

He was also a genuinely good player: .271 across 1,292 games with 213 stolen bases and 427 walks, mostly for Detroit and the New York Highlanders, whom he also managed briefly in 1908.

Born in Pomeroy, Ohio in 1875, Elberfeld collected 1,235 hits and later ran a baseball school in Georgia for many years. He was sixty-eight when he died, in January 1944.

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1898	PHI	14	38	1	9	4	0	0	7	5	5	0	.237
1899	CIN	41	138	23	36	4	2	0	22	15	6	5	.261
1901	DET	121	432	76	133	21	11	3	76	57	18	23	.308
1902	DET	130	488	70	127	17	6	1	64	55	10	19	.260
1903	DET/NYY	125	481	78	145	23	8	0	64	33	17	22	.301
1904	NYY	122	445	55	117	13	5	2	46	37	20	18	.263
1905	NYY	111	390	48	102	18	2	0	53	23	16	18	.262
1906	NYY	99	346	59	106	11	5	2	31	30	19	19	.306
1907	NYY	120	447	61	121	17	6	0	51	36	7	22	.271
1908	NYY	19	56	11	11	3	0	0	5	6	3	1	.196
1909	NYY	106	379	47	90	9	5	0	26	28	17	23	.237
1910	WSH	127	455	53	114	9	2	2	42	35	18	19	.251
1911	WSH	127	404	58	110	19	4	0	47	65	6	24	.272
1914	BRO	30	62	7	14	1	0	0	1	2	4	0	.226
Career	—	1292	4561	647	1235	169	56	10	535	427	166	213	.271

On this day & linked events

1875

Born April 13, 1875

Pomeroy, OH, USA

1944

Died January 13, 1944

1898

Major-league debut: Kid Elberfeld

Kid Elberfeld made a major-league debut on May 30, 1898.

1914

Final major-league game: Kid Elberfeld

Kid Elberfeld played a final major-league game on September 24, 1914.

Image: Public domain