Curt Elston

Charles Curtis Elston

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Weight 200 lb.
• Born January 25, 1879 in Washington County, OH USA
• Died May 16, 1950 in Marietta, OH USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Curt Elston played in the minor leagues from at least 1906 to 1913. He was a very good hitter, batting over .300 in his eight-year career during a pitcher's era.

He began his career with the Lancaster Lanks in 1906, hitting .303 with 146 hits in 129 games, finishing second behind Bill Thomas in the Ohio-Pennsylvania League in batting average. He was also Lancaster's manager for part of the year, replacing Bill Gray. In 1907, again with Lancaster, he hit .318 with 133 hits in 115 games for Lancaster, leading qualify batters in average by 17 points over Delos Drake. Once again, he served as the team's manager for part of the year, replacing James Breen.

In the 1908-1909 offseason, he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 1908 Rule V Draft; however, he did not make the team and returned to the minor leagues. Moving to the Fort Wayne Billikens for 1908, Elston hit .317 with 163 hits in 134 games, finishing second in the Central League behind Charlie French's .339 among qualifying batters in batting average and third in hits (behind French and Dick Bayless). With Fort Wayne again in 1909, Elston hit .305 with 157 hits in 140 games. He led the Central League in games played, tied Arista DeHaven for the lead in at-bats (515) and tied with Les Channell for second in the loop in hits.

Elston slumped to .250 with the Providence Grays in 1910, collecting 137 hits, 23 doubles and 11 triples in 148 games. He rebounded in 1911, hitting .308 with 135 hits, 27 doubles and 14 triples for Providence and in 1912, again with Providence, he hit .317 with 115 hits, 21 doubles and 17 triples in 112 games. He wrapped up his career in 1913, batting .302 with 160 hits, 30 doubles and 14 triples in 148 games for the Chattanooga Lookouts (87 G, 81 H, .260 BA) and Denver Bears (61 G, 79 H, .362 BA).

Overall, Elston hit .301 with 1,146 hits in 1,049 games.

He was also known as Charles Elston.

Notes

• According to the book The Annotated Baseball Stories of Ring W. Lardner, Elston was born in 1879 and he was with the Chicago Cubs, rather than the White Sox, in 1908. Records indicate he began play in 1906, however the book says his career started in 1903.

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1906	Lancaster Lanks	Ohio-Pennsylvania League		3rd	none		replaced Fred Gray
1907	Lancaster Lanks	Ohio-Pennsylvania League			none		replaced James Breen, replaced by Frank Locke