There was a bit of notice made back in 2017, in a late
season “stunt”, with his team, the Detroit Tigers, going nowhere, Andrew Romine
played all 9 positions in a game.
Romine became the 5th player to achieve this “feat”, joining Bert
Campaneris (1965), Cesar Tovar (1968), Scott Sheldon (2000), and Shane Halter
(2000).
In addition, there have been several players who have played
all 9 positions during a given season, but Only One has had the wherewithal to START
ALL 9 positions in a season and appropriately his nickname was “Sport”. In fact, to show his complete versatility, he
even umpired a game!
A quick aside before I profile the “historic” season – 1899
and especially the 1899 Cleveland Spiders is what got me seriously into
baseball research – starting with documenting all of the 1899 lineups and
leading to my obsession with researching and documenting the missing batter
strikeouts of this era. (See blog post: http://batterk.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-this-all-got-started.html
)
Lewis William “Sport” McAllister
Born: July 23, 1874 in Austin, MS
Died: July 17, 1962 (Aged 87-359d) in Wyandotte, MI
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcallsp01.shtml
Background:
McAllister was in his 4th season, all with
Cleveland. 1899 was to be his first
where he played in more than 40 games.
Right before the 1899 season (March 30), the Robison brothers, who owned
both the St. Louis & Cleveland teams, transferred most of the best
Cleveland players to St. Louis, in hopes of bolstering St. Louis’s chances in
the 12 team National League. Cleveland
had not supported their team well, in fact they had only attracted a little
over 70,000 cranks the previous year, last in the League. Unfortunately for Sport, he was not one of
those who was transferred, giving him the “opportunity” to play for what is
arguably the worst team in major league history (20-134).
The Stats:
For the season, McAllister’s line:
G – 113 (110 starts)
AB – 418
R – 29
H – 99
RBI – 31
2B – 6
3B – 8
HR – 1
BB – 19
K – 20
SB – 5
SH – 12
HBP - 2
BA - .237
OBP - .273
SLG - .297
OPS+ - 64
The Starts By Position:
Pitcher – 1
Catcher – 16
First Base – 4
Second Base – 1
Third Base – 6
Shortstop – 3
Left Field – 7
Center Field – 1
Right Field – 71
(Pinch Hitter – 2)
The Starts:
Sport going into the 1899 campaign was already known for his
versatility – having played at 8 positions in 1897 (started at 7 – all except
2b & 3b)
On March 30, it was noted that “Pitcher McAllister will play
in Cleveland this coming season. The
reallocation of the St. Louis & Cleveland players by the Robison’s occurred
on this day.”1
Even before the season began on April 15, McAllister
suffered a broken finger during an exhibition game at Indianapolis.
Umpire (1)
April 30 – Still out with a broken finger, McAllister and
Cincinnati’s Frank Dwyer umpired the game “in the absence of regular umpires”2. The Spiders lost 9-0
Shortstop (3 starts)
When McAllister finally got healthy from his broken finger,
he was first used at short for 3 games (May 9, 10, & 11) replacing Harry
Lochhead who was hitting .173 with a Fielding Percentage of .887 (next to last
in league) (Cl Leader 5/8/99)
Despite Lochhead’s poor past performance, he was back at SS
on the 12th and ended up playing 148 of the team’s 154 games,
posting a terrible 56 OPS+!
Right Field (71)
This was McAllister’s primary position during the
season. Starting on May 15th,
McAllister assumed his primary station out in the right garden. Prior to that, the Exiles had mainly employed
Suter Sullivan & Louis Sockalexis.
Sockalexis played the 5 games in RF prior to McAllister’s 1st
start, in what turned out to be the last 5 major league games of Sockalexis’ fateful
career. By this time, McAllister was
considered the team’s utility man.
Left Field (7)
Dick Harley was the primary left fielder for the Spiders,
starting 141 games there.
From May 24-26, McAllister started in his place after Harley
was spiked in the knee by Washington’s Dick Padden in the 1st inning on an
errant catcher throw during an attempted steal attempt. The injury turned out to be not as bad as
first anticipated and Harley was back for the May 29th game.
Subsequently, McAllister started in place of Harley in left
field on June 1 (swapping positions w/ Harley), August 22 & 23, and
September 12.
Third Base (6)
On June 5, with Lave Cross (.286) & Willie Sudhoff (3
wins) doing too well for the Wanderers, the Robisons transferred the two to St.
Louis. As a result, McAllister was
called upon to take over 3b in the interim which lasted for the next 4 games. Jack Stivetts played 1 game at 3b on June 9,
and then Suter Sullivan took over 3b for the greater part of the rest of the
season.
Sport was called upon to assume the hot corner on three more
occasions. The first one was part of a 3
team doubleheader in St. Louis on July 9 – the Perfectos played Louisville in
game 1 and their “sister” club, Cleveland, in the 2nd game. Louisville, ironically, ended its season much
like Cleveland, on the road. Its home
park, Eclipse Park (III), burned to the ground on September 2nd,
causing the Colonels to play their last 31 games on the road. Cleveland, due to extremely poor attendance,
starting August 31st played its last 36 games on the road.
On August 16th, McAllister was playing rightfield
when Sullivan was injured in the 6th inning. Sport moved from RF to 3b with Charlie
Hemphill taking Sport’s previous spot in rightfield. Sullivan was back in action on the 19th,
but McAllister did not resume his position in rightfield as Hemphill took over rightfield
for the remainder of the season.
Catcher (16)
McAllister 1st start at catcher was on August 9th,
starting instead of Joe Sugden.
Once he lost his RF spot to Hemphill, he began platooning w/
Sugden, catching on the 19th, 20th , 24th, 26th.
Jim Duncan joined the squad on August 28th and it
became a 3 way platoon w/ Sugden & McAllister, with Sport having 11 more
starts in September & October.
Pinch Hitter (2)
On August 28th, McAllister pinch hit for Jim
Hughey in the 9th inning of a 6-4 home game loss against
Boston. His at-bat resulting in an out. And on October 14th, he again
pinch-hit for Hughey in the 9th of a 12-4 loss to Cincinnati, again
producing an out.
First Base (4)
On August 29, McAllister started both games of a doubleheader
versus Boston in place of regular 1b Tommy Tucker as well as the single game on
the 30th. Harry Colliflower
(better known for his 1-11, 8.17 record that season) played the 31st
and Tucker returned to his post on September 1.
McAlister played one more game at 1b on October7 versus
Pittsburg. He moved to C late in the
game, replacing Duncan with Colliflower taking over 1b. Tommy Tucker had been released on September
17th and the Spiders were using primarily Duncan with Colliflower
and Sullivan helping out.
Second Base (1)
On August 31st, Sport took the place of manager
Joe Quinn at second base – it is not clear why Quinn did not play, but he was
run into by umpire (and former Spider) Chippy McGarr in the previous game while
trying to field a groundball off the bat of Hugh Duffy in the 3rd
inning. Quinn was back the next game.
Center Field (1)
On September 5, in the first game of doubleheader at
Cincinnati, Sport started in place of regular Tommy Dowd (the team “MVP”). The previous game, Harry Colliflower had
started in centerfield and in game 2 of the doubleheader, pitcher Crazy Schmitt
patrolled the center garden (it was that type of season!) Dowd was back in CF on 7th.
Pitcher (1)
October 15, 1899 – The last day of the Spiders’ long, long
season was a doubleheader at Cincinnati.
McAllister got the nod in the 1st game and a cigar stand
clerk named Eddie Kolb was scooped off the street (almost literally) to pitch
the 2nd and final game of the season. For McAllister’s part, he gave up 17 hits,
walking 3, and striking out 1 in a 16-1 shellacking. Kolb was even worse, losing 19-3 to end the
Wanderers misery.
Additionally, McAllister started in 8 of the 9 batting
positions – never starting in the 3rd hole!
Batting order splits:
1st – 1
2nd – 3
4th – 7
5th – 72
6th – 5
7th – 6
8th – 15
9th – 1
Following his 1899 Exile experience, McAllister continued
his versatility for a couple more seasons - playing 8 positions (no 1b) for the
minor league 1900 American League Detroit Tigers, then starting at 6 positions
for Detroit in 1901 & 7 for Detroit/Baltimore in 1902. Interestingly, his “primary” position shifted
from rightfield to c/2b in 1900, c/1b in 1901, and then 1b in 1902.
APPENDIX – Starts By Position Detail by Game:
|
Starts by Position Detail |
||||
|
team |
date |
dseq |
player |
fieldpos |
|
CL4 |
18990509 |
0 |
McAllister |
6 |
|
CL4 |
18990510 |
0 |
McAllister |
6 |
|
CL4 |
18990511 |
0 |
McAllister |
6 |
|
CL4 |
18990515 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990520 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990521 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990522 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990523 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990524 |
0 |
McAllister |
7 |
|
CL4 |
18990525 |
0 |
McAllister |
7 |
|
CL4 |
18990526 |
0 |
McAllister |
7 |
|
CL4 |
18990529 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990530 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990530 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990531 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990601 |
0 |
McAllister |
7 |
|
CL4 |
18990602 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990603 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990605 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990606 |
0 |
McAllister |
5 |
|
CL4 |
18990607 |
0 |
McAllister |
5 |
|
CL4 |
18990608 |
0 |
McAllister |
5 |
|
CL4 |
18990612 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990613 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990614 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990615 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990617 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990619 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990620 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990621 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990622 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990623 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990624 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990625 |
B |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990626 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990627 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990629 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990630 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990701 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990701 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990703 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990704 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990704 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990706 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990708 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990708 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990709 |
B |
McAllister |
5 |
|
CL4 |
18990711 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990712 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990713 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990714 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990715 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990715 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990717 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990717 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990718 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990718 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990719 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990719 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990720 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990721 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990721 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990727 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990727 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990728 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990728 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990730 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990730 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990801 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990801 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990802 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990803 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990803 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990805 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990806 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990806 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990808 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990809 |
0 |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18990812 |
1 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990812 |
2 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990814 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990815 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990816 |
0 |
McAllister |
9 |
|
CL4 |
18990817 |
0 |
McAllister |
5 |
|
CL4 |
18990818 |
0 |
McAllister |
5 |
|
CL4 |
18990819 |
2 |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18990820 |
A |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18990822 |
0 |
McAllister |
7 |
|
CL4 |
18990823 |
0 |
McAllister |
7 |
|
CL4 |
18990824 |
0 |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18990826 |
0 |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18990829 |
1 |
McAllister |
3 |
|
CL4 |
18990829 |
2 |
McAllister |
3 |
|
CL4 |
18990830 |
0 |
McAllister |
3 |
|
CL4 |
18990831 |
0 |
McAllister |
4 |
|
CL4 |
18990901 |
1 |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18990903 |
B |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18990904 |
1 |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18990905 |
2 |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18990905 |
1 |
McAllister |
8 |
|
CL4 |
18990907 |
0 |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18990908 |
0 |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18990910 |
A |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18990912 |
1 |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18990912 |
2 |
McAllister |
7 |
|
CL4 |
18990914 |
0 |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18990916 |
0 |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18990918 |
2 |
McAllister |
2 |
|
CL4 |
18991007 |
0 |
McAllister |
3 |
|
CL4 |
18991015 |
1 |
McAllister |
1 |
Footnotes:
2 – Cleveland Leader, May 1, 1899, page 6
Primary Sources:
Cleveland Leader
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Jonathan Frankel 1899 Lineup MS Access Database: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B4NEDe8uYbdlNjgwMDViYTgtYTlhMS00OGU2LTg4NTUtODFiMGMxNmNhNGU0?resourcekey=0-uvHBrU1Q679524Wy5gwafw