Fred Siegel

Frederick Siegel

• Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown

• Debut June 9, 1884
• Final Game June 24, 1884
• Born 1861 in Philadelphia, PA USA
• Died June 6, 1916 in Philadelphia, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Fred Siegel was listed for decades as John Siegel. Not much was known about this player, other than that he played some games at third base in the Union Association in 1884. The Philadelphia Keystones' regular third baseman was Jerry McCormick, who played every one of the team's games; when he wasn't at third base he was playing another position.

Siegel hit .226, better than a couple of the regulars and most of the backups. He was presumed to be the same person as John Siegel, a minor league player of the same era, but that man was playing in Portsmouth, OH at the time, while Philadelphia, PA papers refered to Siegel (no first name given) as "a local amateur". Researcher Peter Morris made the connection between the player and the Siegel who played third base for the amateur Bailey and Atlantic clubs of Philadelphia around that time. Also on the team was a player listed as "A. Siegel", whom Morris assumed could be the missing player's brother. He was thus able to find the family in the 1880 census, that listed brothers Andrew and Frederick Siegel. Notes in the Philadelphia Inquirer show that Fred Siegel was a manager for local teams through the 1890s. He appears one more time in census records in 1910, listed wrongly as "Sieger" and working as a bartender. His obituary mentions that members of two local athletic clubs were invited to his funeral, confirming his standing in the local sporting world.

Further Reading

• "Fred Siegel", in Bill Carle, ed.: Biographical Research Committee Report, SABR, November/December 2011, p. 3.