Tom McCreery

Thomas Livingston McCreery

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.
• School Georgetown University
• Debut June 8, 1895
• Final Game September 27, 1903
• Born October 19, 1874 in Beaver, PA USA
• Died July 3, 1941 in Beaver, PA USA

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Biographical Information

Tom McCreery played 11 seasons in the big leagues, appearing mostly in the outfield but also at every other position aside from catcher. He was an above-average hitter with a lifetime .290 average who led the 1896 National League in triples and the 1897 National League in sacrifice hits. He is remembered as the only major leaguer (through 2008) to ever hit three inside-the-park home runs in one game, something he did in 1897.

McCreery was in the minors with Norfolk and Nashville in 1894-95, and made his major league debut in June of 1895. In his rookie season he played mostly outfield (18 games) but also pitched in eight games and appeared in a few games at shortstop, third and first base. McCreery was apparently a sensation as a pitcher in 1895 for Louisville because he went 3-1 for a team which finished worst in the league - his 5.36 ERA was best on the team (in a lively ball era) of any pitcher who had at least two appearances.

He was a regular for the 1896 Louisville Colonels in his first full major league season, hitting .351, which was the highest batting average on the team. He was a couple years younger than fellow outfielder Fred Clarke.

McCreery was traded in mid-1897, perhaps in part because of the emergence of a young rookie outfielder named Honus Wagner. Tom played well in the second half of the season for the 1897 New York Giants, and when he didn't hit as well for the 1898 Giants, he ended up spending part of the season with the 1898 Pittsburgh Pirates, where he hit more effectively. He also hit well in 1899 with a .323 batting average.

Outfielders Wagner and Clarke moved over in 1900 from Louisville to Pittsburgh and McCreery had an off-season in 1900. He hit better with Brooklyn in 1901 and stayed with the team in 1902 and part of 1903. He finished out his major league career with the National League Boston team in 1903, and spent part of 1903 also with Minneapolis, hitting .339.

1904 and 1905 were spent with Indianapolis and he later played for Columbus.

McCreery was the second major leaguer out of Georgetown University, after Tommy Dowd, and through 2008 is still the player from Georgetown with the third-most major league at-bats, behind Dowd and Art Devlin. The player with the fourth-most at-bats is Dick Harley, who was at Georgetown in the same time period as McCreery.

Through 2008 the only other major leaguer with the same last name has been Ed McCreery.

Notable Achievements

• NL Triples Leader (1896)