Charlie Babb

Charles Amos Babb

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10½", Weight 165 lb.

• Debut April 17, 1903
• Final Game September 2, 1905
• Born February 20, 1873 in Milwaukie, OR USA
• Died March 19, 1954 in Portland, OR USA

BR page

Biographical Information

"Quick on his feet, a perfect fielder and way above the average in hitting, everything points to his rapid advance in the base ball profession. We... see in him the making of the greatest third baseman of the age." - by a Portland correspondent to Sporting Life, April 25, 1896

Charlie Babb was 30 before he made his debut in the majors in 1903 with the New York Giants. He played three seasons in the majors and was in the minors from 1896-1913, although since he was 23 in 1896, he may have played earlier than that as well. The "Baseball Rookies Encyclopedia" says that Babb holds the modern (post-1901) record for a major league rookie getting hit by a pitch, with 22 in 1903. He is also remembered for being traded by the Giants, along with Jack Cronin, in December 1903 to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Bill Dahlen, a near-Hall of Famer who was past his prime at that point.

In 1902, he hit .298 for the Indianapolis Indians, who went 96-45. Oddly, Babb's .298 average was the highest among the regulars since no regular hit over .300, even though the team batting average was .281. In 1906, he managed at Memphis in the Southern Association, keeping the job until 1910. He managed the Norfolk Tars in the Virginia League in 1911, and the Altoona/Reading team in the Tri-State League in 1912. He was an interim manager at Wichita in the Western League in 1913.

"Although he is anything but a graceful fielder, Charlie Babb, the Brooklyns' short stop, is quite a base-hit killer." - Sporting Life of August 6, 1904

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Notes
1906	Memphis Egyptians	Southern Association	79-55	2nd
1907	Memphis Egyptians	Southern Association	74-57	2nd
1908	Memphis Egyptians	Southern Association	73-62	3rd
1909	Memphis Turtles	Southern Association	51-88	8th
1910	Memphis Turtles	Southern Association	62-76	7th
1911	Norfolk Tars	Virginia League	67-54	2nd
1912	Altoona Rams/Reading Pretzels	Tri-State League	52-59	6th
1913	Wichita Witches	Western League		--	replaced George Hughes, replaced by Nick Maddox
	Omaha Rourkes	Western League		--	replaced Carl Arbogast, replaced by Eddie Justice

Related Sites

• Charlie Babb at the SABR Bio Project
• Find-A-Grave Memorial for Charlie Babb
• Baseball History Daily story on Charlie Babb