Doc Bushong

Albert John Bushong

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 165 lb.
• School University of Pennsylvania
• High School Central High School (Philadelphia)
• Debut July 19, 1875
• Final Game September 9, 1890
• Born September 15, 1856 in Philadelphia, PA USA
• Died August 19, 1908 in Brooklyn, NY USA

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Biographical Information

"Mr. A.J. Bushong, formerly catcher of the Mutuals, has signed with the Buffalo club for the season of '78. We think the Buffalos could not have done better. All who saw Mr. Bushong play here, and compare his playing with the catchers who visited us, acknowledge that he was not surpassed in that position." - Janesville Gazette, October 1878

"I have no doubt that much of the success of the St. Louis pitchers has been due to the steady support and judicious coaching of Bushong" - Hall of Famer John Ward, 1888

Doc Bushong was the first player from the Ivy League's University of Pennsylvania to come to the major leagues. He did not play baseball at Penn, instead earning his degree in dentistry, and after his major league days was a practicing dentist. Many big league players are remembered with the name "Doc", but Bushong was the first. The town of Bushong, Kansas [1] was named in his honor after the 1886 World Series.

Bushong in 1888

Bushong played catcher at a time when catchers took a beating from pitched balls. Nevertheless, he had a long career (for the times) in the majors. He started at age 18 with one game in the National Association in its final season (1875), and then played five games in the first year of the new National League in 1876. He did not return to professional baseball until 1880 when he joined the Worcester Ruby Legs their first year in the National League. Despite poor offensive numbers he was one of their better players, providing excellent defense as the team's backstop. He was a constant on a team that got worse each year. The Ruby Legs dropped out of the National League after the 1882 season. In 1883 he joined the Cleveland Blues alongside Ruby Legs teammate Jake Evans. That year happened to be Cleveland's best in their first go-around in the National League, going 55-42-3 with a stellar rotation, caught primarily by Bushong. Just like his previous team however, the Cleveland Blues would drop out of the National League after the 1884 season.

Things changed quickly for Bushong when in 1885 he got sold to the American Association powerhouse St. Louis Browns. These Browns went on to win the pennant each year Bushong was there, and won the World Series (19th century equivalent to it) in 1886 against the Cap Anson led Chicago White Stockings. 1885 and 1886 were his best seasons, when he was at his peak defensively, while also having a 79 OPS+, well above his career mark of 56. On July 1, 1887 he broke a finger off of a Ice Box Chamberlain wild pitch. He had to miss nearly eleven weeks, but the Browns still cruised through their competition, winning seventy percent of their games. Despite this, they lost to the Detroit Wolverines in the 1887 World Series. Afterwards, the Browns sold Bushong, Bob Caruthers and Dave Foutz to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms for $18,250 dollars. Cruelly enough, Brooklyn still lost the pennant to the 1888 St. Louis Browns who remained just as dominant after their fire sale. This was his final year as their primary catcher as during a Fourth of July game in 1889 he injured his arm and it abbreviated the rest of his career as it sapped his throwing strength. They then went on to lose the "World's Series" to the New York Giants in 1889 and tied with the Louisville Colonels in 1890. He played only forty-one games these final two years.

In 1886, his 106 games made him the first player to play ninety or one-hundred games at catcher.

He had the worst OPS+ among qualifying players in 1882 (17) and 1883 (20). If Bushong had enough plate appearances his career batting average of .214 would be within the top ten worst all time.

From 1880 to 1890 he umpired six National League and six American Association games.

The book The Beer and Whisky League has a photo of Doc along with an explanation of why he wore a mustache - he claimed that shaving caused his eyes to tear up, which affected his vision during games. Both Doc and Henry Chadwick died in Brooklyn in 1908.

Related Sites

• Doc Bushong at the SABR Bio Project