John Coffey
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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 |