Jake Beckley from the Chronology

Jan 31, 1971 - The Hall of Fame Special Veterans Committee selects 7 men for enshrinement: former players Jake Beckley‚ Joe Kelley‚ Harry Hooper‚ Rube Marquard‚ Chick Hafey‚ Dave Bancroft‚ and executive George Weiss.

Jul 30, 1904 - Cardinal pitcher Jack Taylor walks 7 and tosses 3 wild pitches to help the host Pirates beat St. Louis‚ 5-2. The outcome will be viewed suspiciously because several local gamblers bet heavily on Pittsburgh before the game‚ but the real reason is Taylor and Jake Beckley's late night public drinking.

May 7, 1904 - In St‚ Louis‚ the first-place Giants provoke a protest in winning 2-1‚ with a pair in the 9th off starter Jack Taylor. John McGraw‚ pinch running after a single by Jack Warner‚ scores on a single by Roger Bresnahan. As McGraw rounded 3B‚ with 1B coach Gilbert following him‚ the entire Giant team collects along the 3B line yelling‚ St. Louis 1B Jake Beckley complains to the ump about it and‚ when one of the Giants dashes to home from the coach's box‚ Beckley fires to an uncovered home plate‚ thinking it is Bresnahan trying to score. Which he then does for the win. St. Louis manager Kid Nichols protests the game‚ claiming‚ correctly‚ that the players left the bench in violation of rule 56‚ section 17. The rule states: "if one or more members of the team at bat stand or collect around a base for which a base runner is trying‚ thereby confusing the fielding side and adding to the difficult of making such play‚ the base runner shall be declared out for the interference of his teammate or teammates." NL president Pulliam rejects the complaint and many fans and writers agree‚ saying the protest is unmanly‚ as noted by historian Benton Stark (The Year They Called off the World Series).

Feb 1, 1904 - The Cards purchase veteran first baseman Jake Beckley from the Cincinnati Reds. The future Hall of Famer will have 4 decreasingly productive years in St. Louis before retiring.

Oct 4, 1902 - When Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss demands a game be played despite a rain-soaked Exposition Park field‚ Cincinnati plays most of its team out of their normal positions. The Pirates insist on playing for a record 103 wins so the Reds show their displeasure when Kelley‚ Seymour and Donlin all smoke cigarettes while playing in the field. First sacker Jake Beckley starts on the mound for the only time in his career‚ pitching four innings and giving up 8 runs‚ 4 earned. Outfielder Cy Seymour follows. This is Seymour's last pitching appearance as the versatile player finishes his pitching career with a 63-56 mark. Turkey Mike Donlin finishes up. Reds rookie pitcher Rube Vickers tries his hand at catching‚ and sets a modern ML record with 6 passed balls to help Pittsburgh win 11-2 [It is also a record for both teams in a game. Vickers makes no effort to retrieve wide pitches‚ and it's a surprise he only has six passed balls.] But Dreyfuss refunds the fans' money and the Reds return their share of the gate to keep the irate fans (not for nothing were they call 'cranks.') from wrecking the stadium.

Jul 8, 1901 - Player-manager George Davis leads the Giants to a 9-3 win over Cincinnati with four hits‚ including 2 inside-the-park homers‚ and four runs RBIs. Mathewson beats Dick Scott for the 2nd time this year‚ though Matty's control is off. He walks 4 batters and hits two‚ including Cincy 1B Jake Beckley‚ who is hit in the head with a Matty pitch and knocked out for 5 minutes.

Sep 9, 1899 - Jake Beckley of Cincinnati hits a grand slam‚ inside-the-park HR in a 12-6 loss to St. Louis. In the same game‚ Bill Phillips quick-pitches a perfect strike to Burkett‚ who had stepped out of the batter's box. True to his nickname of "The Crab‚" Jesse shows his irritation and is ejected. Emmet Heidrick has 4 singles and scores 3 times for St. Louis.

Sep 5, 1899 - The Reds roll over Cleveland‚ winning 19-3 and 9-7. Kip Selbach scores 5 runs in game 1‚ while Jake Beckley has 7 hits in the 2 games.

Sep 27, 1898 - Jake Beckley accepts a record 22 chances-21 putouts‚ one assist‚ no errors-in the Reds' 9-inning win over Cleveland. As noted by historian Frank Williams‚ Cleveland's Jesse Burkett continues his hitting streak which began on September 2 and will end on October 2‚ a streak of 25 games.

May 19, 1898 - Jake Beckley‚ Reds 1B‚ hits 3 consecutive triples off Kid Nichols in a 5-4 win over Boston.

May 27, 1897 - The Reds acquire Jake Beckley from the New York Giants.

Jul 30, 1896 - The Pirates and Giants trade first basemen‚ the Bucs sending future Hall of Famer Jake Beckley to NY for Harry Davis. Beckley will move on to the Reds in May‚ 1997 and hit .300 in 7 of his next 8 seasons‚ while Davis will lead the AL in RBIs in 1905-06.

Jul 2, 1895 - Pittsburgh rolls over Cleveland, 12-1. Pink Hawley loses his bid for a shutout when he heeds the advice of Cleveland coach Patsy Tebeau and throws to first. Tebeau doesn’t notice that Pittsburgh first baseman Jake Beckley is woefully out of position and Hawley ends up tossing the ball to an empty base. Ed McKean scampers around to score on the miscue.

May 29, 1895 - The Boston Herald box score credits Jake Beckley with a 3-run HR to give Pittsburgh an 8-6 win over Washington. Under the rules of the era‚ which do not allow a team batting in the bottom of the last inning to win by more than one run‚ Beckley should be credited only with a triplemaking the score 7-6. Apparently the rule is not strictly enforced.

Jul 10, 1894 - Pittsburgh beats first-place Baltimore‚ 19-9‚ as Jake Beckley scores 5 runs.

May 30, 1893 - Jake Beckley successfully pulls the "ancient" hidden-ball trick on Baltimore Oriole Joe Kelley‚ as Pittsburgh wins 9-1. He hides the ball under a corner of first base.

Dec 18, 1889 - The Brotherhood meets and expels members who have signed National League contracts‚ including Jack Glasscock‚ John Clarkson‚ Kid Gleason‚ and George Miller. Among those expelled‚ Jake Beckley‚ Joe Mulvey‚ and Ed Delahanty would eventually jump back to the PL and be reinstated.

Jun 20, 1888 - Future Hall of Famer 1B Jake Beckley makes his ML debut with Pittsburgh‚ with a double‚ triple‚ and stolen base. Beckley started the season with the St. Louis Whites.