Austin Knickerbocker

Austin Jay Knickerbocker

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 185 lb.
• School Duke University
• Debut April 19, 1947
• Final Game September 28, 1947
• Born October 15, 1918 in Bangall, NY USA
• Died February 18, 1997 in Clinton Corners, NY USA

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Biographical Information

Austin Knickerbocker attended Duke University from which he was signed by Doc Prothro of the Philadelphia Phillies.

He was mostly an outfielder for 12 seasons in Organized Ball from 1940 to 1954, one in the Major Leagues and 12 in the minors, losing three years to the Military. He had a cup of coffee with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1947.

He began his professional baseball career at the age of 21 with the 1940 Wausau Timberjacks of the Northern League. He hit .337 with 22 homers and 100 RBI that year, leading the circuit in homers and finishing fourth in batting average. In 1941 the shortstop went to the Oneonta Indians. He batted .406 that season, the highest mark in the history of the Canadian-American League, and drove in 135 runs, leading the league. Over his first two seasons he had won all three legs of the Triple Crown, not bad for a shortstop who just turned 23 after the second season.

In 1942 Knickerbocker went to the highest level of minor league baseball by joining the Jersey City Giants of the International League. Moved to the outfield, Austin hit .297/~.360/.446, comparable to another Jersey City outfielder, Sid Gordon. Knickerbocker got put into military service, though, and did not play baseball again till he was 27 years old. Had he established himself in the majors prior to World War II he might have had a job waiting for him, but he had stopped short of that end.

Knickerbocker served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was engaged in Africa, Italy, France and Germany (BN).

After the war ended, Knickerbocker began with the Jersey City Giants and then was sold to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He had another solid year despite the long layoff, hitting .294/~.353/.414, making him the top hitter on Toronto that season. The Philadelphia A's purchased Austin's contract and he did okay, posting an 89 OPS+ in limited playing time. He was too old to be deemed a prospect and spent most of the season with Toronto, batting .278/~.326/.393, again performing as a solid contributor for the AAA team. He would never get another crack at the major leagues.

In 1948 Knickerbocker played for the Syracuse Chiefs, posting a .254/~.309/.418 line with some pop (16 HR) but not getting on base much for a flyhawk. He switched AAA leagues in 1949, going to the Toledo Mud Hens and hitting a fine .286 with 23 homers and 104 RBI. He was 6th in the American Association in homers and 7th in RBI. The 31-year-old struggled in 1950, batting just .203 for Toledo and returning to the IL, this time with the Baltimore Orioles. In Baltimore, he homered 10 times in 43 games, batting .259/~.322/.525 and driving in 34 runners.

Knickerbocker began to climb down the minor league rungs. In '51, he hit just .235/~.304/.405 with 14 homers for the San Antonio Missions in the Texas League then saw very limited time there the next year. By 1953 the 34-year-old outfielder was down in class D as player/manager with the Mayfield Clothiers. Facing inferior competition, he had a comeback season, hitting .338 with 26 homers and 98 RBI. He tied for the KITTY League lead in homers. He finished his career with the Olean Giants, batting .301 with 7 homers in the PONY League before retiring. He was replaced as manager of the team by Frank Genovese in mid-year.

He managed minor league baseball before settling in Clinton Corners where he was a self-employed carpenter and was active in local politics. He died at his home in Clinton Corners NY at age 78 after a long illness and is buried at Stanford Cemetery in Stanfordville NY.

Biographical Information

Sources include "Baseball's Canadian-American League" by David Pietrusza, the 1952 Baseball Guide, "The International League: Year-by-Year Statistics" by Marshall Wright, The Baseball Necrology by Bill Lee and Pat Doyle's old-time professional baseball player database