1909 T206 Ollie Pickering

[RUKen]

Originally Posted by jackwesq

Hi everyone. Apologies if this is already [well] known, but this is a great story.

Texas Leaguer dates back to 1901, when a rookie named Ollie Pickering made his debut for the Cleveland Blues (the franchise that would later become the Indians). Pickering had become a legend as a Minor Leaguer in the Texas League, and he was immediately placed atop Cleveland's lineup when he was called up -- he even holds the honor of taking the first at-bat in the history of the American League.

Pickering proceeded to have one of the most fortunate starts to his career imaginable, as his first seven plate appearances all resulted in bloop singles. His teammates decided to name the play after him, and it's stuck ever since.

Like many great stories, this one is probably apocryphal. Ollie Pickering was not a rookie in 1901 and he did not debut for Cleveland that season; he had played 109 games for Louisville in 1896/97 and 46 games for the Cleveland Spiders in 1897. He played in the Western League in 1898 and 1899, and for Cleveland of the American (minor) League in 1900. He was 1-for-4 on Opening Day for Cleveland in 1901 (when the American League had claimed major league status), and 0-for-1 with two walks in the second game.

Pickering's Texas League experience occurred during the seasons 1892 and 1895. He played in the Virginia League in 1896, before debuting with Louisville of the National League that same season on August 9th. He was 1-for-4 in his first game for the Colonels. I do not know if he had seven bloop hits in a row at some point that season, but if he had, why would that type of hit have been named for the Texas League, since Pickering had come to Louisville from the Virginia League?