Dave Bancroft (1971)


Date of Birth: 4/20/1891
Date of Death: 10/9/1972
Birthplace: Sioux City, Iowa

Dave Bancroft started his professional baseball career in the minor leagues in 1909, at the age of 18. He played in the Minnesota-Wisconsin League from 1909 through 1911, The Pacific Coast League in 1912 and 1914, and the Northwestern League in 1913. His contract was purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1915.

Philadelphia Phillies

In 1915, his first year with the Phillies, Bancroft batted .254 with 143 hits, 18 doubles, 7 home runs, and 15 stolen bases in 153 games. He didn't play as well the following season, batting just .212 with 101 hits in 142 games. He improved slightly in 1917, when he had 116 hits, 22 doubles, and a .243 batting average in 127 games.

Bancroft batted .265 in 125 games in 1918. He had 132 hits and 19 doubles. He played well defensively, leading all NL shortstops in putouts with 371. He played in only 92 games with the Phillies in 1919. He had 91 hits and a .272 batting average.

New York Giants

Bancroft was traded to the New York Giants in June, 1920. He finished that season with 183 hits, 36 doubles, 36 RBIs, and a .299 batting average in 42 games with the Phillies and 108 games with the Giants. He had a strong defensive season, leading all NL position players in assists with 598, and leading NL shortstops in double plays with 95 and in putouts with 362.

Bancroft had career highs in triples (15) and in stolen bases (17) in 1921. He batted .318 with 193 hits, 26 doubles, and 67 RBIs in 153 games. He walked 66 times and struck out only 23 times. He again led the NL in assists (546), and NL shortstops in double plays (105) and putouts (396).

Bancroft had the best season of his career in 1922. He had career highs in games played (156), hits (209), doubles (41), walks (79 to 27 strikeouts), and batting average (.321). He led the NL in assists with 579, and he led NL shortstops once more in double plays turned with 93 and in putouts with 405.

In 1923, Bancroft batted .304 in 107 games. He had 135 hits and 33 doubles. Although he played well for the Giants, he was traded after the season ended to the Boston Braves.

Boston Braves

Bancroft became player-manager in Boston and he remained in that position from 1924 through 1927. His record as a manager was 249 wins to 363 losses.

As a player with the Braves in 79 games in 1924, he had 89 hits and a .279 batting average. The next season was a better one for him. In 1925, he batted .319 with 153 hits, 29 doubles, 49 RBIs, and 22 strikeouts to 64 walks in 128 games.

Bancroft played in 127 games in 1926. He had 141 hits, 18 doubles, 44 RBIs, and a .311 batting average. The following year, he batted .243 with 91 hits in 111 games.

Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers)

After the 1927 season, Bancroft signed with the Brooklyn Robins, agreeing to a player only role. He batted .247 in 149 games in 1928. He had 127 hits, 19 doubles, and 51 RBIs. He walked 59 times and struck out 20 times.

Bancroft played in 104 games in 1929, and he batted .277 with 99 hits.

Return to the Giants

Bancroft returned to the Giants to end his career with just 10 games in 1930. That season he also served as assistant manager and coach for the Giants.

MLB Records

  • Led NL in assists (3 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Bancroft in 15 seasons (1915-1929) in the major leagues include:

  • 4 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 209 in 1922
  • 3 seasons with over 30 doubles, with a high of 41 in 1922
  • 5 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .321 in 1922

Career batting statistics for Bancroft include:

  • 1,913 games played
  • 2,004 hits
  • 320 doubles
  • 145 stolen bases
  • 487 strikeouts to 827 walks
  • .279 batting average
  • .355 on-base percentage
  • .713 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Bancroft as a shortstop include:

  • 1,873 games played
  • 6,561 assists
  • 1,021 double plays
  • 4,623 putouts
  • 660 errors
  • .944 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Bancroft include:

  • 4 postseasons
  • 24 games played
  • 93 at-bats
  • 16 hits
  • 1 double
  • 1 stolen base
  • 6 RBIs
  • 10 strikeouts to 6 walks
  • .172 batting average

Post Playing Career

After his major league playing career ended, Bancroft worked as a coach for the Giants in 1931.

In 1933, Bancroft moved to a managerial position in the minor leagues and he continued to manage teams through the 1950 season.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Dave Bancroft
ESPN - Dave Bancroft
Baseball Reference - Dave Bancroft

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