Ben Houser

Benjamin Franklin Houser

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.

• Debut May 2, 1910
• Final Game October 5, 1912
• Born November 30, 1883 in Frackville, PA USA
• Died January 15, 1952 in Augusta, ME USA

BR page

Biographical Information

" . . . known throughout Maine as 'Mr. Baseball' . . ." - from Ben Houser's obituary in the Kennebec Journal, Jan. 16, 1952

Ben Houser played three years in the majors. With the 1910 Athletics, he and Stuffy McInnis vied to be the successor to 36-year-old first baseman Harry Davis as the 1910 Athletics won the 1910 World Series. McInnis eventually took over at first, and Houser went to the Boston Braves, where he became a regular in 1912.

Houser played for Indianapolis in 1911 and Baltimore in 1913. In each case he was one of the best hitters on the team. He was with Baltimore in the year before Babe Ruth was with the team.

SABR has a biography of him. He was in essence orphaned at an early age. As a young man before he was a professional ballplayer, he worked for several years in a department store. After baseball he was the coach at Bowdoin College for 15 years, serving also as hockey coach and also coaching a semi-pro team in the area. Later he was a golf professional and had several human-services jobs. Near the end of his life he scouted for the Boston Red Sox.

There is a Ben Houser Road in Litchfield, ME.

Notable Achievement

• Won a World Series with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1910 (he did not play in the World Series)

Related Sites

• Ben Houser at the SABR Bio Project
• Ben Houser's Obituary at DeadballEra.com