Del Pratt

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Derrill Burnham "Del" Pratt (born January 10, 1888 in Walhalla, South Carolina, died September 30, 1977 in Texas City, Texas) was a star running back for the University of Alabama before becoming a professional baseball player. Pratt signed with the St. Louis Browns in 1912. He was a utilty player, playing second base, shortstop, third base and the outfield.

[edit] Baseball Career

In his rookie season, Pratt batted .302 for the Browns. In 1916 he led the American league with 103 RBIs.

In 1917, the Browns were struggling. Owner Phil Ball accused some of the players of intentionally playing poorly so that they could be traded. Ball said, "Every $1000 I lose on the Browns this season will cost the ballplayers $100. Salaries will be cut next season."

Pratt was offended. He and teammate Doc Lavan sued Ball for slander. The Sporting News went so far as to call Pratt the Brown's Trotsky. The suit was eventually settled in 1918, and Pratt was traded to the New York Yankees.

After the 1920 season, the Yankees traded Pratt to the Boston Red Sox for Waite Hoyt. Instead of suiting up for the Red Sox, Pratt decided to retire. He was hired as the University of Michigan baseball coach to replace Carl Lundgren (with a recommendation from Branch Rickey) and served as an assistant football coach and freshman basketball coach.^[1] He began preparing the 1921 team, but the Red Sox coaxed him out of retirement before the first game of the season. Upon his return to the Sox in 1921, Pratt batted over .300. He ended his career with the Detroit Tigers.

His career batting average was .292 over twelve seasons, with an on-base percentage of .345. He had a total of 968 RBIs and 856 runs scored.