Dave Bancroft

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1916 M101-4 Dave Bancroft

David James "Beauty" Bancroft (April 20, 1891 - October 9, 1972) was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1930. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Bancroft was born in Sioux City, Iowa. He broke into the major leagues in 1915 with the Philadelphia Phillies. Bancroft played shortstop for the Phillies until 1920 when he was traded to the New York Giants. He played for the Giants until 1924, when he was traded to the Boston Braves. Bancroft was a player-manager for the Braves for three seasons from 1925 until 1927. He then when he went to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1928 and 1929. He ended his career in 1930 back with the Giants.

Dave Bancroft
is a member of
the Baseball
Hall of Fame

Bancroft was a career .279 hitter, and never hit more than seven home runs or drove in more than 67 runs in a season. His biggest accomplishments were:

Post-season success:

member of the 1921 and 1922 World Series champion Giants teams

Major League Single Season Record:

most chances (984) by a shortstop in 1922

Years Led League by Statistical category:

led National League shortstops 4 times in putouts
led the National League once in games played

Bancroft was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971 by the Veterans' Committee. However, he is one of the most controversial players in the Hall of Fame, with many attributing his election to the presence of cronies on the Veterans' Committee rather than his baseball achievements. Most players with similar statistics to Bancroft do not have much of a chance of being elected to the Hall of Fame.