Cliff Lee (leecl01)

Clifford Walker Lee

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut May 15, 1919
• Final Game September 8, 1926
• Born August 4, 1896 in Lexington, NE USA
• Died August 25, 1980 in Denver, CO USA

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Biographical Information

Cliff Lee hit .300 during an eight-year career in the majors, mostly in the lively ball era. He played 300 games in the outfield (primarily left and right), 86 at first base and 52 at catcher. He made his major league debut chiefly as a catcher.

Lee and Pug Griffin are the only two major leaguers born in 1896 in Nebraska.

Cliff was in the minors at age 17, and attracted attention in 1918 at age 21 when he hit .359 in 49 games for the Portland Buckaroos of the [[[Western International League]]. Jack Kibble, who had briefly been in the majors in 1912, was also with Portland and hit .326.

Lee's best year in the majors was 1922, when as a regular outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies, he hit .322 and slugged .540. The team lost 96 games but Cliff was one of the stars with the highest slugging percentage among the regulars.

He hit decently in 1923, but spent much of 1924 in the minors with the St. Paul Saints, hitting .382. Chuck Dressen and Mark Koenig were also on the team.

After a good year with the Cleveland Indians in 1925 under skipper Tris Speaker, Cliff didn't hit well in 1926 and found himself back in the minors with the Newark Bears in 1927. He spent three years with Newark and closed out his minor league career with the Seattle Indians in 1930.

He is not to be confused with the other Cliff Lee, a pitcher in the early decades of the 21st century. Ironically, the pitcher also played for Philadelphia, Cleveland and Seattle.

Further Reading

• Michael Clair: "Remember Frank Thomas? No, not that one ... These are MLB's greatest same-named doppelgangers", mlb.com, December 29, 2022. [1]

Related Sites

• Biography of Cliff Lee