Cal McVey

Calvin Alexander McVey

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 170 lb.
• Debut May 5, 1871
• Final Game September 30, 1879
• Born August 30, 1849 in Montrose, IA USA
• Died August 20, 1926 in San Francisco, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Cal McVey was a top player from the 1870s, hitting .346 lifetime.

Even before the first professional league was formed in 1871, he was a member of the legendary Cincinnati Red Stockings, a team that barnstormed around the country and won virtually all of its games. McVey was one of the youngest players on the team, and got paid less than the older players.

When the National Association was formed in 1871, he played every year of the league's existence, and he was on the pennant-winning Chicago White Stockings team in the inaugural year of the National League in 1876.

He was the right age to take advantage of the new professional game of baseball. He was born in 1850, the same year that Al Spalding, Ross Barnes, and Jim O'Rourke were born, and thus was 21 when the National Association began its existence. He was among the league leaders offensively during most of the seasons he played.

McVey played many positions: 186 games at first base, 183 at catcher, 110 in the outfield, 84 at 3rd base, a few at second base and shortstop, and 34 at pitcher, where he had a record of 10-12. He also managed quite successfully three different seasons and umpired three games, one each in 1871, 1873 and 1875.

In a story spanning generations, a pitcher from the 1920s who had pitched very briefly for the New York Yankees and who died around the year 2000, reminisced that he had been inspired by stories of early baseball that McVey had told to the kids in his neighborhood when he was a child sometime around 1900.

Notable Achievements

• NA Slugging Percentage Leader (1875)
• NA OPS Leader (1875)
• NA Runs Scored Leader (1874)
• 2-time NA Hits Leader (1871 & 1874)
• 2-time NA Total Bases Leader (1874 & 1875)
• 2-time League Singles Leader (1871/NA & 1877/NL)
• NA Doubles Leader (1875)
• 2-time NA RBI Leader (1874 & 1875)
• NL Saves Leader (1877)

Records Held

• Hits over two games, 12, 7/22 and 7/25/1876.

Further Reading

• 1968 article

Related Sites

• Cal McVey at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Manager page
• BR Minors page

This manager's article is missing a managerial chart. To make this person's article more complete, one should be added.