George Haddock

George Silas Haddock
(Gentleman George)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 155 lb.

• Debut September 27, 1888
• Final Game September 20, 1894
• Born December 25, 1866 in Portsmouth, NH USA
• Died April 18, 1926 in Boston, MA USA

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Biographical Information

"Pitcher George Haddock . . . ranks among the great pitching stars of (the) country. He is not only a great pitcher but at times a handy man with the bat. . . He received his first points in pitching from the late Jim Whitney, who was his brother-in-law, and in his young days George played with the Madison Parks, an amateur club of Boston." - part of a professional biography of George Haddock in Sporting Life, October 17, 1891

George Haddock was the winningest pitcher on the pennant-winning team in the final major league season of the American Association in 1891. He was also quite good in the 1892 National League.

George played some seasons in the minors, mostly in the Western League, before breaking into the majors at the end of the 1888 season, with the Washington Nationals. Although he lost both the games in which he pitched, his 2.25 ERA was good.

In 1889 he went 11-19 for the Nationals and in 1890 he was 9-26 for the Buffalo Bisons of the Players League. In each case, he was among the top winners for his team, but the teams finished well under .500.

He turned it around in 1891 with a record of 34-11 for the Boston Reds. Haddock had played in the National League and the Players League, and this was his debut in the American Association. Both his win total and his ERA were second-best in the league. He was even a fairly decent hitter, hitting over .240 with a good OBP in both 1890 and 1891 - and during his major league career he was put in the outfield 27 times, presumably because he could hit a bit.

The Association folded, so Haddock played for the Brooklyn Grooms in 1892 and 1893. In 1892 he was effective with a win-loss record of 29-13 for a team which won 95 games. He was the top pitcher for manager Monte Ward. The next year he slumped to 8-9 and in 1894 he finished out his major league career pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Senators. The 1894 Phillies, for whom he went 4-3, are remembered as the team on which outfielders Ed Delahanty, Billy Hamilton and Sam Thompson all hit over .400.

In addition to his playing career, he filled in as an umpire for two games, one as the first-base umpire in the National League in 1889, and one in the Players League in 1890, when he worked home plate.

The April 1963 issue of Baseball Digest mentions Haddock in its article "The Wildest Opening Series Ever Played", and calls him one of the "Big Four" of the Buffalo pitching staff in 1890 (a reference to the famous Big Four hitters who had played on the same club earlier in the decade).

Notable Achievements

• AA Shutouts Leader (1891)
• 20 Wins Seasons: 2 (1891 & 1892)
• 30 Wins Seasons: 1 (1891)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 4 (1889-1892)
• 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 2 (1891 & 1892)

Related Sites

• George Haddock at the SABR Bio Project