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Max Carey

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Max Carey
Carey in 1921
Outfielder/Manager
Born:(1890-01-11)January 11, 1890
Terre Haute, Indiana,U.S.
Died:May 30, 1976(1976-05-30)(aged 86)
Miami, Florida,U.S.
Batted:Switch
Threw:Right
MLB debut
October 3, 1910, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1929, for the Brooklyn Robins
MLB statistics
Batting average.285
Hits2,665
Home runs70
Runs batted in802
Stolen bases738
Managerial record146–161
Winning %.476
Teams
As player
As manager
Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1961
Election methodVeterans Committee

Maximillian George Carnarius(January 11, 1890 – May 30, 1976), known asMax George Carey,was an Americanprofessional baseballcenter fielderandmanager.Carey played inMajor League Baseballfor thePittsburgh Piratesfrom 1910 through 1926 and for theBrooklyn Robinsfrom 1926 through 1929. He managed the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932 and 1933.

Carey starred for the Pirates, helping them win the1925 World Series.During his 20-year career, he led the league instolen basesten times and finished with 738 steals, aNational Leaguerecord until 1974 and still the 9th-highest total in major league history. Carey was elected to theNational Baseball Hall of Famein 1961.

Early life

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Maximillian George Carnarius was born inTerre Haute, Indiana,on January 11, 1890. His father was aPrussiansoldier and swimming teacher. He had emigrated to the United States after theFranco-Prussian Warand worked as a contractor.[1]

Carey's parents wanted their son to become aLutheranminister.He attendedConcordia CollegeinFort Wayne, Indiana,studying in the pre-ministerial program. He also playedbaseball,and was a member of the swimming andtrack-and-fieldteams. After graduating in 1909, he went toConcordia SeminaryinSt. Louis, Missouri.[1]

Professional career

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Minor league baseball

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In the summer of 1909, Carey attended a game ofminor league baseball'sCentral Leaguebetween theTerre Haute Hottentotsand theSouth Bend Greens.South Bend was without a startingshortstop,as they had sold theirs to another team. Carey foundAggie Grant,South Bend'smanager,and convinced Grant to give him the opportunity to fill in for the remainder of the season, based on his track-and-field skills. He used the name "Max Carey" in order to retain his amateur status at Concordia College. He had a.158batting averageand committed 24errorsin 48 games.[1][2]

Carey returned to play for South Bend in the 1910 season. The team had a new shortstop,Alex McCarthy,so Carey agreed to play as theirleft fielder.He had a.298 batting average with 86stolen basesin 96 games. He also recorded 25assists.Able to make a career in baseball, Carey decided to drop out of Concordia.[1]

Major League Baseball

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The president of the Central League recommended Carey to thePittsburgh PiratesofMajor League Baseball's (MLB)National Leaguetowards the end of the 1910 season. The Pirates bought Carey and McCarthy from South Bend on August 15. Carey made his MLB debut with the Pirates, appearing in two games as a replacement forFred Clarkeduring the 1910 season.[1][3]

Carey with Pittsburgh in 1923

In 1911, Carey played in 122 games as the Pirates'center fielder,replacingTommy Leach.[4]He had a.258 batting average on the season.[5]The next year, he succeeded Clarke as the Pirates' left fielder on a permanent basis.[4]In 1913, Carey led the National League inplate appearances(692),at bats(620),runs scored(99), and stolen bases (61).[6]In 1914, he led the National League in games played (156), at bats (596), andtriples(17).[7]He led the National League in steals in 1915 (36),[8]1916 (63),[9]1917 (46),[10]and 1918 (58), while also leading the league with 62 walks in 1918.[11]After the 1915 season, Carey went on abarnstormingtour withDave Bancroft.[12]

Carey missed much of the 1919 season with an injury, but returned to form in the 1920 season.[1]He again led the National League in steals in 1920, with 52,[13]in the 1922 season with 51,[14]in the 1923 season with 51,[15]in the 1924 season with 49,[16]and in the 1925 season with 46.[17]In the 1922 season, he was onlycaught stealingtwice.[4]

In 1924, Carey altered hisbatting stancebased onTy Cobb's. He had a.343 batting average in the 1925 season, and the Pirates won theNational League pennantthat year. In the deciding game of the1925 World Series,Carey had four hits, including threedoubles,off ofWalter Johnson.[1]Carey's.458 batting average led all players in the series, and the Pirates defeated theAmerican League'sWashington Senators.[18]He hit for abatting averageover.300 three seasons in a row from 1921 to 1923. He led the league instolen baseseight times, including each season between 1922 and 1924.[2]He regularly stole 40 or more bases and maintained a favorable steal percentage; in 1922 he stole 51 bases and was caught only twice. He also stole home 33 times in his career, second best only to Ty Cobb's 50 on the all-time list.

Carey (right), and Boston'sBill McKechniewatch asJohn H. McCooeythrows out the first ball of Brooklyn's 1932 season

In 1926, Clarke, now the team vice president, was also serving as an assistant to managerBill McKechnie.Clarke would sit on the bench in full uniform and give advice to McKechnie. Carey ended up in a slump that summer and one day Clarke commented to McKechnie that they should replace Carey, even if they had to replace him with a pitcher. When Carey found out about the remark, he called a team meeting, along withBabe AdamsandCarson Bigbee,who were also discontented with Clarke. The players voted on whether Clarke should remain on the bench during games. The players voted 18–6 in favor of Clarke remaining on the bench. Clarke found out about the meeting and ordered that the responsible players were to be disciplined.[19]Adams and Bigbee were released, while Carey was suspended.[20]The Pirates placed Carey onwaiversand he was claimed by theBrooklyn Robins.[19]Carey played his final three and a half years with the Robins, but he was aging and no longer the same player. Carey retired in 1929.

Later career

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Carey returned to the Pirates as acoachfor the 1930 season.[21]After sitting out the 1931 season, he became the manager of the Dodgers before the 1932 season, succeedingWilbert Robinson.[22][23]He traded for outfielderHack Wilson,[24]and tradedBabe Herman,also an outfielder, forthird basemanJoe Stripp.[25]Behind Wilson, Brooklyn finished in third place in the National League in 1932. However, the team struggled in the 1933 season, leading to outrage when the club renewed his contract for 1934 in August.[26]Receiving criticism by Brooklyn newspapers, he was replaced before the 1934 season byCasey Stengel,and remarked that he became "the first manager fired by the newspapers".[1]The organization stated that they fired Carey due to his inability to get along with his players.[27]

Carey worked as a scout for theBaltimore Oriolesand served as a minor league manager.[28]He was the manager andgeneral managerof theMiami Wahoosof theFlorida East Coast Leaguein 1940 and 1941.[1]In 1944, Carey became the manager of theMilwaukee Chicksin theAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League(AAGPBL). That year, Milwaukee won the AAGPBL pennant.[1]Beginning in 1945, he spent several years as the league's president.[29]He then spent three seasons managing the league'sFort Wayne Daisies.[28]

Later life

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Carey moved toFlorida,and became involved inreal estate.Carey lost more than $100,000 ($1,774,419 in current dollar terms) in the1929 stock market crash.He became a writer in the 1950s. He self-published a book on baseball strategy and authored magazine articles for publications such asEsquire.[1]He also served on the Florida State Racing Commission.[30]

In 1961, theVeterans Committeeelected Carey andBilly Hamiltonto theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.[31]

In 1968, Carey joined other athletes in supportingRichard Nixon'spresidential campaign.The athletes created a committee called Athletes for Nixon.[32]

Carey died on May 30, 1976, at age 86 inMiami, Florida.He was buried in Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum (nowCaballero Rivero Woodlawn North Park Cemetery and Mausoleum). He was survived by his wife, Aurelia, and a son, Max Jr.[30]

Legacy

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Carey was nicknamed "Scoop" for his ability to catchfly ballsin front of him.[33]His mark of 738 stolen bases remained a National League record, untilLou Brocksurpassed it in 1974.[34]

When Carey was young, his mother sewed special pads into his uniform to protect his legs and hips whilesliding.Carey went on topatentthese sliding pads.[1][35][36]He also shared a patent on alinimentcalled Minute-Rub.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abcdefghijklmBennett, John."The Baseball Biography Project – Max Carey".Society for American Baseball Research.RetrievedJune 10,2007.
  2. ^abWaldo, Ronald (2011).The Battling Bucs of 1925: How the Pittsburgh Pirates Pulled Off the Greatest Comeback in World Series History.McFarland. p. 25.ISBN978-0786487899.RetrievedNovember 1,2014.
  3. ^"1910 Pittsburgh Pirates".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedNovember 4,2014.
  4. ^abc"Carey's Path to the Hall of Fame".The Miami News.January 30, 1961.RetrievedOctober 29,2017– via newspapers.
  5. ^"1911 Pittsburgh Pirates".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedNovember 4,2014.
  6. ^"1913 National League Batting Leaders".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedNovember 4,2014.
  7. ^"1914 National League Batting Leaders".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedNovember 4,2014.
  8. ^"1915 National League Batting Leaders".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedNovember 4,2014.
  9. ^"1916 National League Batting Leaders".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedNovember 4,2014.
  10. ^"1917 National League Batting Leaders".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedNovember 4,2014.
  11. ^"1918 National League Batting Leaders".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedNovember 4,2014.
  12. ^"The Gazette Times".RetrievedNovember 4,2014– via Google News Archive Search.
  13. ^"1920 National League Batting Leaders".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedNovember 4,2014.
  14. ^"1922 National League Batting Leaders".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedNovember 4,2014.
  15. ^"1923 National League Batting Leaders".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedNovember 4,2014.
  16. ^"1924 National League Batting Leaders".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedNovember 4,2014.
  17. ^"1925 National League Batting Leaders".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedNovember 4,2014.
  18. ^"1925 World Series - Pittsburgh Pirates over Washington Senators (4-3) - Baseball-Reference".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedNovember 4,2014.
  19. ^abWaldo, Ronald (2010).Fred Clarke: A Biography of the Baseball Hall of Fame Player-Manager.McFarland. pp. 203–205.ISBN978-0786460168.RetrievedNovember 1,2014.
  20. ^"Pirates Drop Vets, Suspend Their Captain".Sarasota Herald-Tribune.RetrievedNovember 7,2014– via Google News Archive Search.
  21. ^Boyle, Havey J. (October 31, 1930)."Mirrors of Sport".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.RetrievedNovember 4,2014– via Google News Archive Search.
  22. ^"Carey Gets Pilot's Job Of Dodgers".Schenectady Gazette.AP.October 24, 1931.RetrievedNovember 7,2014– via Google News Archive Search.
  23. ^Talbot, Gayle (January 5, 1932)."Max Carey Says He Will Give Brooklyn Batter Baseball With Injection of New Ideas".Reading Eagle.RetrievedNovember 4,2014– via Google News Archive Search.
  24. ^Cuddy, Jack (January 25, 1932)."Max Carey Intends To Build Robins Around Hack Wilson".The Pittsburgh Press.UP.RetrievedNovember 4,2014– via Google News Archive Search.
  25. ^Carroll, Ed (March 24, 1932)."Sportalk".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.RetrievedNovember 4,2014– via Google News Archive Search.
  26. ^"Flatbush Betting 5 to 1 Max Carey Gets The Ax".The Pittsburgh Press.UP.February 20, 1934.RetrievedNovember 4,2014– via Google News Archive Search.
  27. ^"Brookly Dismisses Max Carey As Manager".The Pittsburgh Press.February 21, 1934.RetrievedNovember 7,2014– via Google News Archive Search.
  28. ^ab"Carey, Max".Baseball Hall of Fame.RetrievedNovember 1,2014.
  29. ^"Max Carey".All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association.RetrievedNovember 1,2014.
  30. ^ab"Carey top base-thief of his day".The Morning Record.AP.June 1, 1976.RetrievedNovember 7,2014– via Google News Archive Search.
  31. ^Fitzgerald, Tommy (January 30, 1961)."Dream Comes True, Carey Reaches 'Hall'".The Miami News.RetrievedOctober 29,2017– via newspapers.
  32. ^Hesser, Charles (July 19, 1968)."Citrus Tycoon Griffin In Town For Wallace".The Miami News.RetrievedOctober 29,2017– via newspapers.
  33. ^"Two Ex-Outfielders Enter Hall Of Fame".The Palm Beach Post.AP.January 30, 1961.RetrievedOctober 29,2017– via newspapers.
  34. ^"Max Carey Succcumbs".The Evening Independent.AP.May 31, 1976.RetrievedNovember 4,2014– via Google News Archive Search.
  35. ^Ferguson, Harry (May 28, 1963)."Big Ideas Copied; Even Lillian Russell Got Into The Act".The Pittsburgh Press.UPI.RetrievedNovember 7,2014– via Google News Archive Search.
  36. ^"Patents Granted".The Pittsburgh Press.September 10, 1927.RetrievedNovember 7,2014– via Google News Archive Search.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toMax Carey.
Achievements
Preceded by Hitting for the cycle
June 20, 1925 		Succeeded by
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