Buck Ewing (1939)


Date of Birth: 10/17/1859
Date of Death: 10/20/1906
Birthplace: Hoagland, Ohio

Buck Ewing started his major league career in 1880 with the Troy Trojans of the National League. He played in only 13 games in his first season. In 1881, he batted .250 with 68 hits in 67 games. The next year, he played in 74 games and he batted .271 with 89 hits, 16 doubles, and 11 triples.

New York Gothams/Giants

When the Trojans folded after the 1882 season, Ewing signed with the New York Gothams/Giants. In his first season with them, he led the NL in home runs with a career high of 10. He finished the 1883 season with 114 hits, 13 doubles, and a .303 batting average in 88 games.

Ewing led the NL in triples in 1884. In 94 games, he had 106 hits, 15 doubles, a career high 20 triples, and a .277 batting average. He also excelled defensively, leading all NL catchers in assists with 127. The following season, he again led in assists with 102. He finished the 1885 season offensively with 104 hits, 15 doubles, 12 triples, and a .304 batting average in 81 games.

Ewing continued to play well for the Giants, batting .309 in 1886, .305 in 1887, and .306 in 1888. He had a career high 53 stolen bases in 1888.

In 1889, Ewing's batting average went up to .327. He finished the season with 133 hits, 23 doubles, 13 triples, and 34 stolen bases in 99 games. He once again led all NL catchers in assists with 149. He also led them in putouts with 524.

Players League

Ewing left the Giants in 1890 to join the newly formed Players League. That year, he batted .338 with 119 hits, 19 doubles, 15 triples, and 36 stolen bases in 83 games.

Return to Giants

Ewing returned to the Giants in 1891, but he played in just 14 games with them that year. The next season, he batted .310 in 105 games. He had 122 hits, 15 triples, and 42 stolen bases in 1892.

Cleveland Spiders (NL)

After the 1892 season, Ewing played for two seasons with the Cleveland Spiders, a team that folded in 1899. In his first season with them, he had career highs in games played (116), hits (172), and doubles (28). He also had 15 triples, 47 stolen bases, and a .344 batting average. He played in only 53 games in 1894, and he batted .251.

Cincinnati Reds

Ewing spent his last three seasons in the major leagues, 1895-1897, as player-manager for the Cincinnati Reds. In his first season with the Reds, he batted .318 with 138 hits, 24 doubles, 13 triples, and 34 stolen bases in 105 games.

Ewing played in only 69 games in 1896. He batted .278 with 73 hits, 14 doubles, and 41 stolen bases. The following season, he played in just one game.

Career Statistics

Statistics for Ewing in 16 seasons (1881-1896) in the major leagues include:

  • 11 seasons with over 10 triples, with a high of 20 in 1884
  • 8 seasons with over 20 stolen bases, with a high of 53 in 1888
  • 11 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .347 in 1891

Career batting statistics for Ewing include:

  • 1,315 games played
  • 1,625 hits
  • 178 triples
  • 354 stolen bases
  • .303 batting average
  • .351 on-base percentage
  • .807 OPS

Post Playing Career

After his playing career ended, Ewing continued to serve as manager of the Reds through the 1899 season. The next season, he returned to the Giants as manager for one season. Ewing's managerial record was 489 wins to 395 losses.

Ewing died on October 20, 1906, at the age of just 47.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Buck Ewing
ESPN - Buck Ewing
Baseball Reference - Buck Ewing

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