Tommy Leach

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thomas William Leach (November 4, 1877 - September 29, 1969) was a center fielder and third baseman in Major League Baseball in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, playing 19 big league seasons. He also participated in the first modern World Series in 1903 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, hitting four triples to set a record that still stands, and he played with legendary players such as Honus Wagner, Dummy Hoy, Three Finger Brown, Frank Chance, Heinie Groh, Max Carey and Casey Stengel. Leach played professionally for the Louisville Colonels, Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds.

Leach was well-known for his small stature and was nicknamed "Wee Tommy". He once led the National League in home runs with a total of six. Each one was of the inside-the-park variety, which was not unusual in the "dead ball era".

49 of Tommy Leach's 63 career home runs were inside-the-park, which is still a National League record.

[edit] External links

• Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
• Photo from Glory of Their Times web site

Preceded by Sam Crawford

National League Home Run Champion 1902

Succeeded by Jimmy Sheckard