Chubby Snyder

Alfred Joseph Snyder
(Chubby)

• Bats unknown, Throws unknown

• Debut June 13, 1914
• Final Game June 13, 1914
• Born August 20, 1890 in Buffalo, NY USA
• Died March 24, 1954 in Buffalo, NY USA

Biographical Information

Chubby Snyder caught one game for the Buffalo Buffeds of the Federal League on June 13, 1914, drawing a walk in his lone plate appearance. Until 2010, he was one of the lost players of history, as his playing record had been erroneously attributed to Jack Snyder, a contemporary who would catch briefly for the Brooklyn Robins in 1917. However, investigations by SABR researcher Peter Morris demonstrated that the two were discrete players.

Alfred Snyder, known as "Chubby", was a semi-professional player from Buffalo, NY who played for a number of years around western New York. His obituary in the Niagara Falls Gazette from 1954 states that he was the owner of a tile and marble business, and was a member of the Rotary Club and of two professional associations, the Home Builders and Builders Association and the National Association of Tile and Marble Contractors. He was born in Buffalo before moving to Niagara Falls, NY, although he died at Millard Fillmore Hospital in nearby Buffalo.

The obituary indicates - wrongly - that he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates as a catcher, that he was a World War I veteran, and that he died of cancer after being ill for about a year.

Further Reading

• "New Player Discovered", in Bill Carle, ed.: Biographical Research Committee Report, SABR, July/August, 2010, p. 1.