John Joseph Evers (July 21, 1883 – March 28, 1947) was a Major League Baseball player and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1946. He was born in Troy, New York.
Evers' last name originally rhymed with beavers rather than severs, but he came to accept both pronunciations.
Career
Evers, a second baseman, made it to the big leagues with the Chicago Cubs in 1902 and played for the Cubs through 1913. During those years he appeared in three World Series and won two, (in 1907 and 1908). One of the smallest men ever to play in the major leagues, Evers reportedly weighed less than 100 pounds (45 kg) when he first broke in, and generally played at a weight under 130 pounds (59 kg). His combative play earned him the nickname "The Crab."
In 1914 Evers was traded to the Boston Braves, which proved to be a spectacular combination — the Braves won the World Series, and Evers won the Chalmers Award (a forerunner of the MVP award). Evers played with the Braves until 1917, when he was claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies in mid-season. He retired from playing after that season, having batted .300 or higher twice in his career, stolen 324 bases and scored 919 runs.
Evers is best known to modern-day fans as the pivot man in the "Tinker to Evers to Chance" double play combination, which inspired the classic baseball poem Baseball's Sad Lexicon, written by the twenty-eight-year old New York Evening Mail newspaper columnist Franklin Pierce Adams in July 1910.[1] He was also the player who alerted the umpires to Fred Merkle's baserunning error in the 1908 pennant race, costing the Giants the pennant.
In 1914, he set the single-season record by getting ejected from a game 9 times.
Evers managed three teams, the 1913 Chicago Cubs, the 1921 Cubs, and the 1924 Chicago White Sox. Over his managerial career, he posted a 180-192 record.
Later life
He later served as a scout for the Boston Braves and as business manager and field manager of the International League's Albany Senators.
Johnny Evers died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1947 in Albany, New York,[2] and is interred in St. Mary's Cemetery in Troy, New York.
Evers is mentioned in the poem "Line-Up for Yesterday" by Ogden Nash:
See also
References
External links
|
Chicago Cubs managers |
|
| Chicago White Stockings (1870-1889) |
|
|
| Chicago Colts (1890-1897) |
|
|
| Chicago Orphans (1898-1901) |
|
|
| Chicago Cubs (1902-present) |
|
|
|
Chicago Cubs |
|
| Formerly the Chicago White Stockings, Chicago Colts and the Chicago Orphans • Based in Chicago, Illinois |
|
| The Franchise |
|
|
| Ballparks |
|
|
| Lore |
|
|
| Culture |
|
|
| Rivalries |
|
|
| Important Figures |
|
|
| Retired Numbers |
|
|
| Key Personnel |
|
|
World Series
Championships (2) |
|
|
National League
Championships (16) |
|
|
Division
Championships |
|
|
Minor League
Affiliates |
|
|
| Other Assets |
|
|
|
Seasons (138) |
|
| 1870s |
|
|
| 1880s |
|
|
| 1890s |
|
|
| 1900s |
|
|
| 1910s |
|
|
| 1920s |
|
|
| 1930s |
|
|
| 1940s |
|
|
| 1950s |
|
|
| 1960s |
|
|
| 1970s |
|
|
| 1980s |
|
|
| 1990s |
|
|
| 2000s |
|
|
| 2010s |
|
|
|
- Johnny Evers 
