Pike, Lip "The Iron Batter"

Lipman Emanuel Pike

A member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and one of the first professional baseball players, Pike was a lefthander who played every position. In 1866, he was paid the princely sum of $20 per week to play third base for the Philadelphia Athletics. Pike's five-year major league career officially began in 1876 with St. Louis. He was known for his unusual intelligence, integrity and sobriety in a sport not known for those qualities. He also happened to be a splendid hitter, who finished his career with a lifetime .304 batting average. In addition, he was such a fleet runner that he once won a race against a horse!

Birth and Death Dates:
b. May 25, 1845 - d. October 10, 1893

Career Highlights:
Following in the footsteps of his older brother Boaz, Lip began playing organized baseball one week after his Bar Mitzvah. In 1866, while playing for the strongest team in Brooklyn, the Atlantics, Pike came to the attention of the Philadelphia Athletics. They thought so much of Lip's potential that they offered him $20/week to play, an offer he quickly accepted. Soon after, other players followed his example and became professionals, but it was not until 1869 that the first all-professional team was born (the Cincinnati Red Stockings). Lipman remained with Philadelphia for only one year, but established himself as a star when he hit six home runs -- five in a row -- in one game!

Pike's fame spread and the following year, he became player/manager of the Irvington (NJ) team, but he moved midseason to the New York Mutuals. The Mutuals were owned by politician Boss Tweed, however, and Pike left the team at the end of 1868 because of Tweed's corruption. After returning to the Brooklyn Atlantics for the 1869 and 1870 seasons, Pike became the player/manager of the Troy Unions of the National Association, the first all-professional league. He led the league with four home runs that year and finished in the top ten in every major hitting category, including average (.377 - seventh), slugging (.654 - second), and runs batted in (39 - fourth).

Before the start of the 1872 season, the upstart Baltimore Canaries joined the NA and signed Pike. One of the team's most popular players, he moved to the outfield and was an important part of Baltimore's second place finish -- he won the home run crown for the second year in a row with six. Playing the outfield, Lip showed off his tremendous speed, something he did off the field as well. After winning a $100 purse in the Maryland State 100-yard championship, Pike raced against a famous trotting horse named Clarence. The horse started 25 yards behind Pike to gain speed, and Lip only began when the horse reached him. Billed as "America's Fastest Runner," Pike defeated Clarence in the 100-yard race, finishing in a time of 10 seconds flat, better than the existing record!

After playing for Baltimore in 1873, Pike was player/manager for Hartford in 1874 and then moved west to St. Louis the following year. He remained one of the best players in the NA during this time, finishing in the top five in hitting both seasons, with remarkable batting averages of.355 and .346, respectively. In 1876, the National League replaced the National Association; Pike remained with the St. Louis Brown Stockings. He then moved to the Cincinnati Reds in 1877 and began the season as manager, but yielded the reins 14 games into the season. Lip remained in the outfield and won the home run crown for the fourth time in his career with four.

Over the next couple of years, Pike remained in the game as he moved from team to team. He played in Springfield (MA), Albany (NY) and Worcester (MA). While with Worcester (of the National League) in 1881, the manager used Pike as a scapegoat for the team's poor season, accusing Lipman of not playing his best. Pike was blacklisted by the National League for one season before being reinstated, but he had announced his retirement in the meantime. In 1887, Pike decided to try to make a comeback at the age of 42 with the original New York Mets of the American Association. He played one game, then retired again, this time for good.

Although his playing days were behind him, Pike remained deeply attached to the game. He umpired in both the National League and the American Association. In 1893, he died suddenly of heart disease at the age of 48. In its obituary, the Sporting News wrote, "Those who knew Pike best appreciated him the most. He was one of the baseball players of those days who were always gentlemanly on and off the field -- a species which is becoming rarer as the game grows older." In 1914, the editor of the Sporting Life of Philadelphia picked Pike as one of their all-star outfielders for the 1870-80 era. Pike's career batting average in the major leagues was .304. He is a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Career Dates:
1876-78; 1881 (5 games); 1887 (one game)

Position:
Outfield, although he occasionally played second base, and twice played shortstop during the 1877 season.

Physical description:
5'8", 158 pounds
Left-handed

Career Statistics:
Games: 163
Batting Avg.: .304
Slugging Avg.: .417

At-bats: 733
Hits: 223
Doubles: 36
Triples: 16

Home Runs: 5
Home Run %: 0.7
Runs: 133
RBI: 88

BB: 26
Strike Outs: 29
Stolen Bases: 0

Pinch Hitting
At-bats: 0
Hits: 0

Fielding Statistics
Put-outs: 279
Assists: 109
Errors: 86
Double-plays: 16

Total Chances per Game: 2.9
Fielding Avg: .825

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