Sisler, George

▪ American athlete

in full  George Harold Sisler 

born March 24, 1893, Manchester, Ohio, U.S.

died March 26, 1973, Richmond Heights, Missouri

 American professional baseball player, considered by some the greatest of all first basemen.

      As a student at the University of Michigan, Sisler excelled in baseball, football, and basketball. He entered the major leagues directly with the St. Louis Browns of the American League in 1915 and remained with them through 1927. He later played for the Washington Senators (1928) and the Boston Braves of the National League (1928–30).

      Before settling at first base, the left-handed Sisler pitched and played the outfield. Twice he hit over .400 (.407 in 1920 and .420 in 1922), and he attained a career batting average of .340. He set a major league record with 257 hits in 1920, a record that stood until 2004. In 1922 he batted safely in 41 consecutive games, an American League record until 1941 (when it was broken by Joe DiMaggio (DiMaggio, Joe)). He led the American League in stolen bases for four years, stealing 51 in 1922.

      Ill health prevented Sisler from playing in 1923, when he was at his peak. Impaired vision reduced his effectiveness thereafter, as did the burden of managing the Browns for the 1924 through 1926 seasons. (The Browns were a notoriously hapless baseball team; no matter how good their players, they were never able to do well. The St. Louis adage “First in shoes, first in booze, and last in the American League” referred in the first two instances to St. Louis's successful industries and in the third instance to the Browns.)

      Despite Sisler's health problems and the problems of managing such a team as the Browns, he still hit over .300 in all but one of his remaining seasons. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, in 1939.

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