Eddie Collins (1939)


Date of Birth: 5/2/1887
Date of Death: 3/25/1951
Birthplace: Millerton, New York
College: Columbia University

Eddie Collins attended Columbia University, which made him different from other players of his era, most of whom never attended college, and certainly not an Ivy League one. While still at Columbia, he signed with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1906. That year, he played in the Northern Independent League.

Philadelphia Athletics

Collins played with the Athletics from 1906 through 1914. In his first two seasons, he had very limited playing time, joining the Athletics for just 6 games in 1906 and 14 games in 1907.

Collins batted .273 with 90 hits in 102 games in 1908. Defensively, he played in the outfield. The following season, he was moved to second base, the position he held for the rest of his career. In 1909, he batted .347 with 198 hits, 30 doubles, 67 stolen bases, and 36 strikeouts to 62 walks in 153 games.

As a star second baseman, Collins led the American League in assists four times (1909, 1910, 1913, 1915), double plays five times (1909, 1910, 1912, 1916, 1920), putouts seven times (1909-1912, 1917, 1919, 1920), and fielding percentage nine times (1909, 1910, 1914-1916, 1920-1922, 1924).

In 1910, Collins led the AL in stolen bases with a career high 81. He finished the season with 188 hits, 16 doubles, 15 triples, 81 RBIs, and a .324 batting average in 153 games. He excelled also in the postseason, batting .429 with 9 hits in 21 at-bats in 5 games.

The 1911 season was another strong one for Collins. He batted .365 with 180 hits, 22 doubles, 13 triples, and 38 stolen bases in 132 games. He again played very well in the postseason, batting .421 with 8 hits in 19 at-bats in 5 games.

Collins continued to bat well over .300 in 1912 (.348) and 1913 (.345). He led the AL in singles in 1913 with 145.

In 1914, his last season with the Athletics, Collins won the AL Chalmers award as the best player in the league. He batted .344 with 181 hits, 23 doubles, 14 triples, 58 stolen bases, and 85 RBIs in 152 games. He walked 97 times while striking out only 31 times.

Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox purchased Collins' contract in December, 1914. He played with the White Sox from 1915 through 1926.

In his first season with the White Sox, Collins led the AL in walks with a career high of 119. He struck out just 27 times. He finished the 1915 season with a .332 batting average, 173 hits, 22 doubles, and 46 stolen bases in 155 games.

Collins had a career high 17 triples in 1916. He batted .308 with 168 hits and 40 stolen bases in 155 games. The following season, he played in a career high 156 games. He finished the 1917 season with 163 hits and a .289 batting average. He played even better in the postseason, batting .409 with 9 hits in 22 at-bats in 6 games.

Collins had limited playing time in 1918, batting in just 97 games. He had 91 hits and a .276 batting average.

In 1919, Collins had a good season with a .319 batting average. He led the AL in stolen bases with 33 and he had 165 hits and 80 RBIs in 140 games. Although he wasn't involved in the World Series fix, he didn't play well in the postseason. He batted just .226 with 7 hits in 31 at-bats in 8 games.

Collins had his best season in 1920. That year, he had career highs in hits (224), doubles (38), and batting average (.372) in 153 games. He also had 13 triples, 20 stolen bases, and 76 RBIs.

Collins continued to play well from 1921 through 1923, batting .337 in 1921, .324 in 1922, and .360 in 1923. He led the AL in stolen bases in 1923 with 48. He also led the AL in the number of times he was caught trying to steal a base.

In 1924, Collins batted .349 with 194 hits, 27 doubles, 42 stolen bases, and a career high 86 RBIs in 152 games. He became the player-manager of the White Sox on August 24th and he remained in that position through 1926.

Collins continued to play well in 1925 and 1926, along with being successful as the team's manager. He finished the 1925 season with 147 hits, 26 doubles, 80 RBIs, and a .346 batting average in 118 games. The following season, he batted .344 in 106 games. As manager, he led the White Sox to 174 wins and 160 losses.

Return to Athletics

The White Sox released Collins in November, 1926, and a month later, on December 23rd, he returned to his first team, the Philadelphia Athletics. He had limited playing time in his final years as a major league player. In 1927, he batted .336 in 95 games. He played in just 36 games in 1928, 9 games in 1929, and 3 games in 1930.

Awards and MLB Records

  • AL MVP
  • Led AL in stolen bases (4 times)

Career Statistics

Batting statistics for Collins in 20 full seasons (1908-1927) in the major leagues include:

  • 15 seasons with 150 hits or more, with a high of 224 in 1920
  • 3 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 38 in 1920
  • 12 seasons with 10 or more triples, with a high of 17 in 1916
  • 12 seasons with 30 or more stolen bases, with a high of 81 in 1910
  • 17 seasons with a batting average of .300 or better, with a high of .372 in 1920

Career batting statistics for Collins include:

  • 2,826 games played
  • 3,315 hits
  • 438 doubles
  • 187 triples
  • 744 stolen bases
  • 1,299 RBIs
  • 467 strikeouts to 1,499 walks
  • .333 batting average
  • .424 on-base percentage
  • .853 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Collins at second base include:

  • 2,650 games played
  • 7,630 assists
  • 1,239 double plays
  • 6,526 putouts
  • 435 errors
  • .970 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Collins include:

  • 6 postseasons
  • 34 games played
  • 128 at-bats
  • 42 hits
  • 7 doubles
  • 2 triples
  • 14 stolen bases
  • 10 strikeouts to 10 walks
  • .328 batting average

Post Playing Career

Collins retired as a major league player in 1930. The following year, he was hired as a coach for the Athletics and he stayed in that position through 1932.

Collins was the general manager of the Boston Red Sox from 1932 through 1947.

Collins was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939 on the fourth ballot with 77.7% of the vote.

Eddie Collins died on March 25, 1951 from a heart condition.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Eddie Collins
ESPN - Eddie Collins
Baseball Reference - Eddie Collins

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