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Posted By: leon

Cut and pasted from a few sites but still relevant...A member of four World Championship teams, Eddie Collins was a winner with a confident and aggressive style of play. He played 25 years in the major leagues and was considered the finest second baseman of his time. He led his league in fielding nine times, and he accepted more chances, had more assists, and made more putouts than any other pivot man in history. He was one of the best performers in World Series play, hitting .328 with 42 hits and 14 stolen bases in 34 games.

Career Batting Stats
G AB H R HR RBI SB AVG SLG OBP OPS OPS+
2826 9949 3315 1821 47 1300 744 .333 .429 .424 .853 123.5


Teams Eddie Collins Played For
Philadelphia Athletics (1906-1914)
Chicago White Sox (1915-1926)
Philadelphia Athletics (1927-1930)

Factoids
Eddie Collins buried his bats during the off-season in shallow holes in his backyard that he called "graves" in order to keep them "lively."

Edward Trowbridge Collins Jr. was a rarity in baseballs early days he attended college. The 19-year old joined the Philadelphia Athletics in 1906, fresh from the campus of Columbia University. Two years later he was the starting second baseman for Connie Macks As, helping to form the famed $100,000 Infield.

When Collins arrived for a short stay with the As in 1906, he played under the name "Sullivan" to protect his identity and eligibility for college sports. He was at the time the starting quarterback for the Columbia football team.

From 1910 to 1914, the As won four of five AL pennants, and three World Titles. They were a dynasty built around speed, defense, and pitching. Collins was a fantastic World Series performer for the As, hitting .429 in the 1910 Series with four steals, and .421 with three swipes in the 1913 Fall Classic.

Collins was a slap hitter with great bat control and patience. He led the AL in walks in 1915 with 119. He was usually used as a leadoff man, leading the league in runs from 1912-1914. Next to Ty Cobb he was the best base stealer of his era, leading the circuit in 1910 with 81 thefts. He also led in steals in 1923 and 1924, when he was past the age of 36. While baseball moved away from inside baseball tactics in the 1920s, Collins remained steadfast.

After the 1914 season, Collins was sold to the Chicago White Sox for $50,000. He starred for the Sox for the next twelve seasons, playing more games in their uniform than he had for Philadelphia. In 1916 he enjoyed a 20-game batting streak. He was named captain of the team by manager Kid Gleason. In 1917 the Sox won the World Series and in 1919 they lost it to the Reds. The 1919 Series was crooked with eight players playing dishonestly. Collins set a record in that Fall Classic with his 14th steal in the post-season.

He was named player/manager of the Sox late in 1924, and the next two seasons he guided them to winning records. He was released by Chicago following the 1926 season and re-joined Mack on the As. With the As he was a coach and player, mostly a pinch-hitter. In 1927 he led the AL with 12 pinch-hits, in 34 at-bats. He joined Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker on the 1928 As team and last appeared as a player in 1930. In 1929, after the death of Miller Huggins, Collins was offered the job of managing the Yankees. He refused, believing he would follow Mack as skipper of the As.

Collins holds the AL record for service, at 25 seasons. He holds the White Sox single-season mark with his 224 hits in 1920, a season in which he had a 22-game hitting streak. Twice he stole six bases in one game, within a two-week stretch in 1912. His career steals total ranks among the top-ten on the all-time list. He followed his playing and coaching career as general manager of the Boston Red Sox until 1951. With the BoSox he helped rebuild the team, and was instrumental in the signings of Bobby Doerr and Ted Williams.

Died
March 25, 1951, Boston, MA