Joe Knight

Jonah William Knight
(Quiet Joe)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 185 lb.

• Debut May 16, 1884
• Final Game October 3, 1890
• Born September 28, 1859 in Port Stanley, ON CAN
• Died October 16, 1938 in Lynhurst, ON CAN

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Biographical Information

Jonah "Joe" Knight had a long career in pro ball. He was a star pitcher who then became a star hitter. He had two years in the majors, and was well above average as a hitter for the Cincinnati Reds in 1890.

Joe was born, and died, in Canada. His birthplace was Port Stanley, ON, around 120 miles east of Detroit, MI. Much of his minor league career involved playing for teams based in Canada or else in the far northern portions of the USA. He started pitching pro ball in 1884 when he appeared in 6 games for the Philadelphia Quakers, but got attention in 1885 when he was 24-8 for the London Cockneys. London is only 25 miles from Port Stanley. The next year he went 11-3 for the Hamilton Clippers, another team based in southern Ontario. However, that was the end of his pro pitching career.

Joe had been a decent enough hitter while he was a pitcher, but once he concentrated on hitting, he got good at it. He gradually improved in 1887 and 1888, and then led the London team in batting in 1889. He came back to the majors with the Reds in 1890, this time as a left fielder, and was one of the strongest hitters on an above-.500 team. Back in the minors for the rest of the decade, he led his teams (or was one of the best hitters) several times. His highest batting average was .376 for the Binghamton Bingoes in 1893, on a team that also featured the 21-year-old Willie Keeler hitting .294. Joe won two batting championships in the minors. [1]

The SABR biography of Ezra Sutton says that Sutton, Knight and a number of other major leaguers formed a polo team in the winter of 1884-85, playing other teams in New England.

In 2009, Joe Knight was elected to the International League Hall of Fame. In the announcement honoring him, it was said he hit .345 during 13 seasons in the minors.