Fred Tenney

Note: This page is for first baseman Fred Tenney who made his debut in 1894; for the player in 1884, click here.

Frederick Tenney

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 155 lb.
• School Brown University
• Debut June 16, 1894
• Final Game October 7, 1911
• Born November 26, 1871 in Georgetown, MA USA
• Died July 3, 1952 in Boston, MA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

1903 E107 Breisch Williams

Fred Tenney was a first baseman with good fielding and above-average hitting who played for seventeen years in the major leagues, from 1894 to 1911.

Tenney went to Brown University, where he played catcher along with other future major leaguers Fred Woodcock, Frank Sexton, and Daff Gammons. He hit one ball that rolled along a concrete walk for a home run, and the opponent Princeton University objected, stopped the game, and severed baseball relations with Brown.

Tenney was at Brown from 1890-1894, and came to the majors on June 16, 1894, with the Boston Beaneaters. He started out as a catcher the first year, but when he hit .395 in 27 games, it was clear his bat had to be in the lineup as much as possible. In 1895 and 1896 he split his time between outfield and catcher, but from 1897 he was a first baseman.

Tenney, who was born in Massachusetts about 30 miles from Boston, MA, played for the Beaneaters for most of his career. They were one of the top teams in the 1890s, winning the pennant in 1897 and 1898 under Frank Selee.

Tenney (as a first baseman) and Herman Long were credited with doing the first 3-6-3 double play in 1897. Tenney later remarked that there was a long silence after the play while the crowd absorbed the play, and then a huge roar because they had seen something new.

Tenney did not usually lead the league in offensive categories, although he had some good years with the bat. In 1898, 1899, and 1902 he was in the top ten in the National League in batting, in 1902 he was second in the league in on-base percentage, and in 1908 he led the league in runs scored. He also led the league in sacrifice hits in 1902, and was among the leaders in several other seasons. His 17 triples in 1899 were fourth in the league.

Tenney, by his absence in 1908, may have indirectly led to the occurrence of the Merkle Bonehead Play. Due to an injury, he was out of the lineup and was replaced by 19-year-old Fred Merkle.

Tenney served as player-manager for a number of his seasons, but the teams were not competitive.

Accounts would sometimes refer to him as a "soiled collegian" because it was considered a bit unseemly for a college-educated man to play baseball. However, that overlooked the fact that a number of his college teammates also played in the majors, albeit more briefly.

Similarity scores show two Hall of Famers on the most similar list - Lloyd Waner and Richie Ashburn. Ashburn is an interesting comparison because, although Richie was more prominent, both Ashburn and Tenney had good batting averages, good on-base percentage, speed but little power, and excellent defense.

There is another Fred Tenney who played briefly in the majors and also attended Brown University. The two were born twelve years apart.

Notable Achievements

• NL At-Bats Leader (1897)
• NL Runs scored Leader (1908)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 4 (1897-1899 & 1908)
• 200 Hits Seasons: 1 (1899)

Preceded by Al Buckenberger

Boston Beaneaters/Doves Manager 1905-1907

Succeeded by Joe Kelley

Preceded by Fred Lake

Boston Rustlers Manager 1911

Succeeded by Johnny Kling

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
1905	Boston Beaneaters	National League	51-103	7th	Boston Beaneaters
1906	Boston Beaneaters	National League	49-102	8th	Boston Beaneaters
1907	Boston Doves	National League	58-90	7th	Boston Doves
1910	Lowell Tigers	New England League	65-56	4th	none
1911	Boston Rustlers	National League	44-107	8th	Boston Rustlers
1916	Newark Indians	International League	52-87	8th	none

Related Sites

• Fred Tenney at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Manager page