Otis Stocksdale

Otis Hinkley Stocksdale
(Old Gray Fox)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Weight 180 lb.
• School Johns Hopkins University
• Debut July 24, 1893
• Final Game May 2, 1896
• Born August 7, 1871 in Arcadia, MD USA
• Died March 15, 1933 in Pennsville, NJ USA

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Biographical Information

Otis Stocksdale, the "Old Gray Fox", never had a winning record as a pitcher but hit over .300. As a pitcher, his Adjusted ERA was 80, while as a hitter his Adjusted OPS+ was 84 (each on a scale where 100 is average).

Stocksdale pitched most of his major league career during a lively ball era with the Washington Senators. He had been born in Maryland and attended Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

He is the player with the highest major league batting average to come out of Johns Hopkins, and the only one who played in the 19th century.

After the majors, he played in the minors for many years. According to the SABR biography of Charlie Babb, Stocksdale made accusations against Memphis manager Babb that turned out to be unsupported.

Stocksdale coached Duke University from 1902 to 1907. In 1908 and 1909 he coached the University of North Carolina, leading them to a winning record each year - in 1909 the team was 19-5.

He managed at Durham in 1902 and Lynchburg in 1911. He umpired 2 National League games in 1895 and then 1 Federal League and 11 NL games in 1915.