Blondie Purcell
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William Aloysius "Blondie'" Purcell was born on March 16, 1854 in Paterson, New Jersey, and was a Major League Baseball player for total of 12 seasons while playing for eight different teams in two leagues. He played in 1097 games, mainly in the outfield, but did pitch in 79 games throughout his career, as well as other infield positions.
On June 6, 1882, when playing for Buffalo, he was fined $10 for slicing open a soggy baseball. He did this to compel the umpire to put a fresh ball in play so his pitcher, Pud Galvin, would be able to throw his curveball.[1]
In 1883 he was the player-manager for the Philadelphia Quakers. He took the reins of the team after just 14 games, when they were only 4-13 under player-manager Bob Ferguson, and finished the season with an equally dismall 17-81 record. The 8th place Quakers finished 23 games behind the 7th place Detroit Wolverines. Blondie never managed another major league game.[2]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Baseball Reference - Career Statistics
| Preceded by Bob Ferguson |
Philadelphia Phillies Managers 1883 |
Succeeded by Harry Wright |
Categories: 1854 births | Major league players from New Jersey | 19th century baseball players | Baseball player-managers | Syracuse Stars (NL) players | Cincinnati Reds players | Cleveland Blues players | Buffalo Bisons players | Philadelphia Quakers players | Philadelphia Phillies managers | Philadelphia Athletics (AA) players | Boston Beaneaters players | Baltimore Orioles (AA) players | Year of death unknown
