John Coffey

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John Coffey
Birth Name John Francis Coffey
Nickname "Mr. Birthday" (He was known for memorizing the birthdates of more than 3,000 people, famous and unknown)
Positions Third Base/Shortstop
Teams 1918 Boston Red Sox, 1909 Boston Braves, and 1918 Detroit Tigers
Years of Experience 2 years
Height 5 ft 11 in
Weight 178
Bats Right
Throws Right
First Game June 23, 1909
Last Game September 2, 1918
College St. John's College
Place of Birth New York, New York
Date of Birth January 28, 1887
Place of Death The Bronx, New York
Date of Death February 14, 1966
Buried in Calvary Cemetery, Woodside, New York

John "Jack" Francis Coffey was a baseball player on the 1918 World Champion Boston Red Sox. He started the season by playing 22 games with the Detroit Tigers before being sold to the Red Sox in mid-August. He was listed as a possible replacement for the injured Dave Shean, but never got a chance to play in the World Series. His only other time in the major leagues was when he played for the 1909 Boston Braves.

Coffey is the only player to play with both Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth in the same season (1918 Tigers and Red Sox). After finishing up his playing career, he went on to coach the Fordham University baseball team from 1922 to 1955, amassing 817 wins. The University's baseball field is named in his honor.

[edit] Statistics

Career Statistics:
Hitting

Year Team League G AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG
1909 Braves National 73 257 48 4 4 0 21 20 2 11 .187 .229 .233
1918 Tigers American 22 67 14 0 2 0 7 4 2 8 6 .209 .303 .269
1918 Sox American 15 44 7 1 0 1 21 5 2 3 2 .159 .213 .250
1918 Total N/A 37 111 21 1 2 1 12 6 8 11 8 .189 .268 .261
Career Total N/A 110 368 69 5 6 33 21 26 6 22 8 .187 .241 .242


Fielding

Year Team League Position G PO A E DP FP
1909 Braves National Shortstop 73 133 213 40 18 .896
1918 Tigers American 2B 22 55 56 5 6 .957
1918 Red Sox American 3B 14 11 31 2 0 .955
2B 1 1 6 0 0 1.000
Career Total N/A 2B 23 56 62 5 6 .959
Career Total N/A 3B 14 11 31 2 0 .955
Career Total N/A Shortstop 73 113 213 40 18 .896
Career Total N/A All 110 200 306 47 24 .915


The current-day Coffey Field at Fordham University
The current-day Coffey Field at Fordham University

[edit] External links