James Joseph Collins (January 16, 1870 – March 6, 1943) was a
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
player at the turn of the 20th century who was widely regarded as being the best
third basemanA third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
prior to
Brooks RobinsonBrooks Calbert Robinson, Jr. is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball. He played his entire 23-year career with the Baltimore Orioles . Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in .Robinson grew up to play third base for the Orioles, and gained great renown for his...
. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.
Collins joined the major leagues in 1895 as a member of the
Louisville ColonelsThe Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891, first as the Louisville Eclipse and later as the Louisville Colonels ; they then joined the National League after the AA folded and...
, but would finish the season with the
Boston BeaneatersThe Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From to the present, the Braves have played in Turner Field....
. He asserted himself as a skilled player in 1897 when he held a .346
batting averageBatting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively. The two statistics are related, in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages....
and knocked in 132 runs.
James Joseph Collins (January 16, 1870 – March 6, 1943) was a
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
player at the turn of the 20th century who was widely regarded as being the best
third basemanA third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
prior to
Brooks RobinsonBrooks Calbert Robinson, Jr. is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball. He played his entire 23-year career with the Baltimore Orioles . Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in .Robinson grew up to play third base for the Orioles, and gained great renown for his...
. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.
Career
Collins joined the major leagues in 1895 as a member of the
Louisville ColonelsThe Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891, first as the Louisville Eclipse and later as the Louisville Colonels ; they then joined the National League after the AA folded and...
, but would finish the season with the
Boston BeaneatersThe Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From to the present, the Braves have played in Turner Field....
. He asserted himself as a skilled player in 1897 when he held a .346
batting averageBatting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively. The two statistics are related, in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages....
and knocked in 132 runs. He followed with an equally impressive 1898 season, in which he hit .328, drove in 111 runs and belted a league-high 15
home runIn baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle all the bases, ending at home plate and scoring runs for himself and each runner who was already on base, with no errors by the defensive team on the play...
s.
However it was Collins' defense that made him a star. He was best known for his ability to field a bunt -- prior to his debut, it was the shortstop who fielded bunts down the third base line - and is regarded as a pioneer of the modern defensive play of a third baseman.
Collins joined the
Boston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since , the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. The "Red Sox" name originates from the iconic uniform feature....
in 1901 as a player and a
managerIn baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager ; this individual controls matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
. He led the team to the
World SeriesThe World Series has been the annual championship series of the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada since 1903, concluding the postseason of Major League Baseball...
title in
1903The 1903 World Series, the first modern World Series to be played in Major League Baseball, matched the Boston American League club against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a best-of-nine series, with Boston prevailing five games to three, winning the last four....
and the American League pennant in 1904.
Collins was traded to the
Philadelphia AthleticsThe Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the Oakland Coliseum....
in 1907 and retired there after the 1908 season. He finished his career with 65 home runs, 1055 runs, 983 RBI and a .294 batting average.
Honors
When Collins was inducted into the Hall of Fame in
1945Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 1945 included the first regular election conducted in three years and a strong response to criticism of the slow pace of honors....
he was the first to be chosen primarily as a third baseman. In 1981,
Lawrence RitterLawrence S. Ritter was an American writer whose specialties were economics and baseball.Ritter was a professor of economics and finance, and chairman of the Department of Finance at the Graduate School of Business Administration of New York University. He also edited the academic periodical...
and
Donald HonigDonald Martin Honig is a novelist and historian who mostly writes about baseball.While a member of the Bobo Newsom Memorial Society, an informal group of writers, Honig attempted to get Lawrence Ritter to write a sequel to The Glory of their Times. Ritter balked but gave Honig his blessing...
included him in their book
The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time.
In a 1976
EsquireEsquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
magazine article, sportswriter
Harry SteinHarry Stein is a fictional police officer and secret agent featured in DC Comics. Stein first appeared in Vigilante series 1 #23, , and was created by Paul Kupperberg and Tod Smith.-Vigilante:...
published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Because of space limitations the
IrishThe Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians The Irish...
team, including Collins as third baseman, was omitted.
Jimmy Collins was born and died in
Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, second only to New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River, Buffalo is the principal city of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the seat of Erie...
. He is buried in Holy Cross (Roman Catholic) Cemetery, in nearby
LackawannaLackawanna is a city in Erie County, New York, U.S., located just south of the city of Buffalo in the western part of New York state. The population was 19,064 at the 2000 census. The name derives from the Lackawanna River...
.
See also
External links