Edd J. Roush (May 8, 1893 – March 21, 1988) was a Major League Baseball player who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. He played the majority of his career at center field, and had his best years with the Cincinnati Reds.
Career
Roush made his major league debut on August 20, 1913 for the Chicago White Sox. He switched to the fledgling Federal League in 1914 and spent two seasons with the Indianapolis Hoosiers, who became the Newark Pepper in 1915. In 1916, he split the season between the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Reds.
With the Reds from 1917 to 1926, the left-handed hitting Roush never batted below .321, and was an instrumental part of the team's World Series championship in 1919. He won the National League batting title in 1917 and 1919. His best career year in batting average was 1921, when he batted .352. He also led the leagues in Slugging average (.455) in 1918, in Doubles (41) in 1923, and in Triples (21) in 1924. He was renowned as having the best arm of any outfielder in his era. He held out most of the 1922 season over a salary dispute[1] that continued into spring 1923.[2]
Roush played for the New York Giants again from 1927 until 1929 and rejoined the Cincinnati Reds for a single season in 1931 before retiring. He sat out the 1930 season over a salary dispute.[1]
Roush finished his 18-year career with a .323 lifetime average, 268 stolen bases and 182 triples. He never struck out more than 25 times in a season and had 30 inside-the-park home runs.
Roush, who used a massive 48-ounce Louisville Slugger (the heaviest bat used in baseball), claims that he never broke a bat in his big league career.
Post-playing career
Edd served one season as the Reds coach with his best friend, Bill McKechnie. During his career, Edd saved his money and was able to retire after he finished playing. He built a house in Bradenton, Florida and used it as a winter residence. He would frequently attend Spring training and tell stories of the old days. He devoted most of his time in his hometown of Oakland City, where he served on the town and school board and ran the Montgomery cemetery for 35 years.[3]
Honors
In addition to Roush's selection into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 (chosen with Bill McKechnie), he is also a member of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, being inducted in 1960. Considered the greatest player in Reds' history at the time, he was invited to throw out the first ball at the last game at Crosley Field on June 24, 1970. Joe Morgan called Roush "the best of us all".
In 1981, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time.
Death
He died at the age of 94, still insisting that even if the White Sox had played the 1919 World Series on the level, the Reds would have won.
At the time of his death on March 21, 1988 in Bradenton, Florida, Edd Roush was the last surviving Federal League participant.
See also
References
External links
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- 1958 Paul Derringer, Ernie Lombardi, Frank McCormick, Johnny Vander Meer, Bucky Walters
- 1959 Ival Goodman, Eppa Rixey
- 1960 Ewell Blackwell, Edd Roush
- 1961 Lonny Frey, Billy Werber
- 1962 Hughie Critz, Bubbles Hargrave, Ted Kluszewski
- 1963 Rube Bressler, Harry Craft, Heinie Groh, Noodles Hahn
- 1964 Gus Bell, Pete Donohue
- 1965 Fred Hutchinson, Larry Kopf, Red Lucas, Wally Post, Johnny Temple
- 1966 Jake Daubert, Mike McCormick, Billy Myers
- 1967 Adolfo "Dolf" Luque, Bill McKechnie
- 1968 Sam Crawford, Joe Nuxhall
- 1969 Warren Giles
- 1970 Jim O'Toole
- 1971 Roy McMillan
- 1972 Gordy Coleman
- 1973 Jim Maloney
- 1974 Bob Purkey
- 1975 Smoky Burgess
- 1976 Brooks Lawrence
- 1977 Vada Pinson
- 1978 Frank Robinson
- 1979 Tommy Helms
- 1980 Clay Carroll
- 1981 Leo Cárdenas
- 1982 Wayne Granger
- 1983 Gary Nolan
- 1984 Jack Billingham
- 1986 Johnny Bench
- 1987 Joe Morgan
- 1988 Jerry Lynch
- 1998 Tony Pérez, Cy Seymour
- 2000 Sparky Anderson, Dave Concepción
- 2001 Bob Ewing, Mario Soto
- 2002 Don Gullett, Bid McPhee
- 2003 George Foster, Dummy Hoy
- 2004 Ken Griffey, Sr., Bob Howsam, Will White
- 2005 Eric Davis, José Rijo, George Wright, Harry Wright
- 2006 Tom Browning, Lee May, Tom Seaver
- 2008 César Gerónimo, August Herrmann, Joey Jay, Barry Larkin
- 2010 Pedro Borbón, Chris Sabo, Tony Mullane
- 2012 Sean Casey, Dan Driessen, John Reilly
- 2014 Ken Griffey Jr., Dave Parker, Ron Oester, Jake Beckley
- 2016 Pete Rose
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