Books and articles about Eddie Collins

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Eddie Collins was one of the most accomplished all-around ballplayers ever to play the game. They called Collins "Cocky," not because he was arrogant, but because he was filled with confidence based on sheer ability. Bill James wrote, "Collins sustained a remarkable level of performance for a remarkably long time. He was past thirty when the lively ball era began, yet he adapted to it and continued to be one of the best players in baseball every year...his was the most valuable career that any second baseman ever had."

Collins played for 25 years, 20 of them as a regular. He won no batting titles because he played during the same time as Ty Cobb, but did lead the AL in stolen bases four times and in runs scored three consecutive seasons, 1912-14. Collins batted .333 lifetime, and stole 743 bases. He had 3,311 hits (eighth all-time) and was a superlative fielder, leading second basemen in fielding average nine times. He was an adroit bunter, a slashing, lefthanded-batting hit-and-run man, and a brilliant baserunner. In the dugout or on the coaching lines, he was a canny, sign-stealing, intuitive strategist.

Collins's background was atypical of a player of the early 1900s. He starred as captain of Columbia University's baseball team. Barred from playing his senior year because he had disguised himself as "Eddie Sullivan" to play professionally (even getting into a few games with the Athletics), Collins was named Columbia's coach, and stayed to get his degree.

Collins was one of the key young players on Connie Mack's great Athletic teams of 1909-14 that won pennants in all but 1912. He was the premier player in Mack's "$100,000 Infield," with Jack Barry at shortstop, Stuffy McInnis at first base, and Frank Baker at third base, a unit valued for its finely meshed teamwork as well as the players' great individual skills. Collins later attributed this harmony on the field to the personal relationships off it, which continued past playing days. The "$100,000 Infield's" exceptional defense had a big payoff in the dead ball era, when teams scrapped for one run at a time.

When Connie Mack disbanded his long-reigning team in 1915, he sold Collins to the Chicago White Stockings. Collins starred in the 1917 World Series, hitting .409, and scoring a key run on one of his typical heads-up plays during a game-winning, Series-ending rally. Collins had maneuvered into a rundown between third and home to allow two other baserunners to get into scoring position. Seeing no one covering the plate, he wheeled past the catcher as he threw to third baseman Heinie Zimmerman, who unsuccessfully chased the fleet Collins home.

In 1918 Collins joined the Marines, but was back the next season on another pennant-winner, the infamous 1919 Chicago "Black Sox." As one of the "honest players," he was unforgiving of the eight who had sold out, yet described the team as the greatest on which he had played, winning despite hostility, feuds, and outright crookedness.

Collins continued to play season after season of superlative second base, always batting over .300. After the White Sox finished last in 1924, Collins was named manager. He led them for two seasons, winning more than he lost, but finished fifth both years. The White Sox judged that his days as an everyday infielder were ending, and released the $40,000-a-year player-manager.

Connie Mack invited his former star to return to his rebuilt Philadelphia A's. Collins played less and less, but took over more and more field duties from Mack. He was third-base coach and, unofficially, assistant manager, and turned down offers to manage other teams. The A's won three straight pennants (1929-31), with Collins pinch-hitting a few times in 1929 and '30. The promise of the Shibe brothers (the A's owners) and Mack that Collins would succeed old Connie (then 67) kept Collins on hand. Fortunately he didn't stay around long, since Mack didn't retire until age 88.

Instead, Collins's opportunity to run a team came with the Boston Red Sox. He and Tom Yawkey were alumni of the same prep school and became friends. The millionaire sportsman, on Collins's advice, purchased the Red Sox and brought Collins in as part-owner and GM. Collins began rebuilding a team that had never recovered from the sale of stars to the Yankees a decade earlier. Yawkey's money bought Joe Cronin from Washington to be player-manager, and pried loose stars Jimmie Foxx and Lefty Grove from the A's. Collins went on just one scouting trip for the Red Sox, to California, but came back with two extraordinary prospects, Bobby Doerr and Ted Williams.

Eddie Collins was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939, the year Eddie, Jr. debuted with the Athletics as an outfielder. (JK)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » September 17, 1906: Playing as "Sullivan," Columbia University junior Eddie Collins makes his debut at SS with the Athletics. He gets one hit off Ed Walsh and strikes out twice. Collins will play 25 years in the ML, bat .333, and become a member of the Hall of Fame. » August 4, 1909: Umpire Tim Hurst instigates a riot by spitting in the face of Athletics 2B Eddie Collins, who had questioned a call. Under police guard, Hurst is ushered off the field. This incident eventually leads to Hurst's banishment from baseball two weeks later. » May 5, 1910: P Cy Morgan and 2B Eddie Collins of the Athletics and P Dixie Walker and C Gabby Street of the Senators handle all the assists in the 10–1 Philadelphia victory. » October 4, 1910: In Philadelphia's 3–1 win at Boston, the A's Eddie Collins swipes his 81st base to set a new AL record. Cobb will break it next year by 2. » October 18, 1910: Jack Coombs struggles for a 9–3 win, walking nine and giving up eight hits, but strands 14 Cubs, while a 6-run 7th off Three Finger Brown blows open the win for the A's. Eddie Collins has two doubles and two SBs. » April 12, 1911: Before the start of the opener in Philadelphia, 2B Eddie Collins, the best player on the champion A's, is presented with a new automobile. Jumbo Vaughn and the A's Chief Bender then display tough pitching, each allowing a run apiece through seven innings, but Jack Barry's error in the 8th allows Otis Johnson to score the winning run for the Yankees. Hippo Vaughn allows four hits in the 2–1 victory. » May 6, 1911: The A's Eddie Collins hits the first homer at Washington DC's stadium, but the Nationals prevail over Philadelphia, 7–6. » October 11, 1911: The first MVPs are announced. Using a point system—8 for a first-place vote, seven for 2nd, and so on—the eight voting writers give OF Ty Ty Cobb the maximum 64 points. P Ed Walsh is 2nd, and 2B Eddie Collins 3rd. The NL winner is the Cubs OF Frank "Wildfire" Schulte. Christy Mathewson is 2nd. Winners receive Chalmers automobiles. » October 16, 1911: The World Series resumes today, Monday, and the pitchers continue to dominate. Rube Marquard and Eddie Plank are in command of a 1–1 game when Philadelphia's Eddie Collins doubles in the last of the 6th and Frank Baker hits one over the RF fence for a 3–1 victory. » September 7, 1912: With Brad Kocher behind the plate, Eddie Collins steals six bases in the Athletics' 9–7 defeat of Detroit, a post-1900 record that is still unmatched. Remarkably, on the 22nd, he will repeat with six against the Browns. With 63 for the season, he will run 2nd to Clyde "Deerfoot" Milan's 88. » September 11, 1912: In a tumultuous game featuring an attack on an umpire and three ejections, Eddie Collins swipes six bases to pace the A's to a 9–7 win over the Tigers. In the 3rd inning, Ty Cobb foils an intentional walk when he steps across the plate to slap a single. To the dismay of the home crowd, Ump Tommy Connolly calls a foul strike, and manager Hugh Jennings gets tossed for protesting. Collins swipes his 6th base in the 8th inning and, on the front end of a double steal, crosses the plate, but Frank Baker is thrown out at 2B. Baker will reprise his record on the 22nd. » September 22, 1912: Eleven days after stealing six bases in a game, Eddie Collins does it again. Included in his six swipes are 3B and home, as the A's beat the Browns 8–2, in the first of two games. Collins has no steals in game 2. Collins will end the year with 63 steals, a distant second to Clyde Milan's 88. Browns' C Jim Stephens shared the backstop a year ago (September 28, 1911) when 15 stolen bases were racked up. » September 27, 1912: Eddie Plank goes 19 innings for the A's against Bob Groom and Walter Johnson of the Nationals, and takes a 5–4 loss when Eddie Collins' wild throw lets the winning run score. Johnson relieves Bob Groom at the end of the 9th, and pitches 10 innings of scoreless relief. » August 24, 1913: In Chicago, Walter Johnson wins his 14th straight, a 2–1 decision over the Sox. Johnson fans the side in the 8th inning, then with two on and two out in the 9th, strikes out Eddie Collins. » September 6, 1913: Athletics 2B Eddie Collins steals home twice in a game against the Red Sox to tie the ML mark. » October 11, 1913: John McGraw loses his 3rd straight World Series. In game 5, Christy Mathewson is good, but Eddie Plank is better; his 2-hitter wins the 3–1 finale. Frank Baker at .450 and Eddie Collins at .421 lead a strong A's offense. » June 27, 1914: The A's top Walter Johnson and Washington, 4–2. Eddie Collins is 2-for-4 with a run and RBI for the A's. » July 10, 1914: Detroit's Billy Purtell and Marty Kavanagh combine to nab Eddie Collins with th hidden ball trick. It comes in the 9th inning and helps preserve an 8–8 tie with Philadelphia. » September 21, 1914: The White Sox score in the 4th inning on a Walter Johnson wild pitch, one of four that Johnson uncorks in the game. But he strikes out 12 batters in 13 innings as the Nats finally break through against Chicago's Red Faber for a 6–1 win. The record book gives Johnson all four wild pitches in the 4th inning, but it appears that Eddie Collins, who opened with a single, stole 2nd and advanced on a grounder to 3rd, scored the Pale Hose's only tally on a just one wild pitch. » October 9, 1914: The Boston Braves go into the World Series as underdogs, despite their strong finish. Only one regular, LF Joe Connolly, hit .300. Their strengths are pitchers Dick Rudolph, George "Lefty" Tyler, and "Seattle Bill" James, 2B Johnny Evers, who wins Chalmers' final MVP automobile, and SS Rabbit Maranville, their cleanup hitter. The Philadelphia A's Eddie Collins, with a .344 BA, wins the Chalmers AL award with 63 of 64 possible points. The A's have seven pitchers with 10 or more wins, led by Chief Bender's 17–3. Bender's World Series magic is quickly dispelled as the Braves knock him out in the 6th. Rudolph coasts to a 5-hit 7–1 victory. Hank Gowdy has a single, double, and triple. He will hit a World Series record .545, and Evers, .438. Only Babe Ruth will top Gowdy with .625 in 1928. Bender makes his last World Series appearance, finishing with a record 59 strikeouts. » December 8, 1914: After weeks of rumors, the bomb drops: Connie Mack sells Eddie Collins, generally regarded as the game's finest position player, to the White Sox for $50,000. Collins signs a 5-year contract worth $75,000 and gets $15,000 as a signing bonus. The deal breaks up the A's "$100,000 infield" and raises conjecture that Mack, too, will leave to manage the Yankees. Ban Johnson reportedly had a hand in the negotiations, sending the A's star to counter the box office effect of the Chifeds signing Walter Johnson. » September 2, 1917: The first place White Sox take a pair from the Tigers, winning 7–2 and 6–5. The Sox bunch four in the 1st and three more in the 3rd to make the shine ball's leading proponent, Ed Cicotte, a winner over Willie Mitchell. In the nitecap, the Sox snap a tie in the 9th when Eddie Collins, with one stolen base already, swipes 2B and 3B after a walk. Joe Jackson's sac fly brings him home. » October 15, 1917: After Red Faber and Rube Benton match three scoreless innings in Game Six, Eddie Collins leads off the 4th and hits a grounder to Heinie Zimmerman at 3B. Collins takes 2nd when the throw gets past 1B Walter Holke. Joe Jackson's fly to RF is dropped by Dave Robertson, and Collins goes to 3B. When Happy Felsch hits one back to the pitcher, Collins breaks for home. Benton throws to 3B to catch Collins, and C Bill Rariden comes up the line. But with Zimmerman in pursuit Collins keeps running and slides home safely. Zimmerman will be blamed for chasing the runner, but nobody was covering home plate. The Giants come back with two runs on Buck Herzog's triple in the 4th, but Faber wins his 3rd of the Series 4–2. The winners earn $3,669.32 each; the losers $2,442.21. One-fourth of each team's share, about $4,000, is divided equally among the clubs in each league. » October 6, 1919: After a Sunday rainout, Hod Eller blanks the Sox on 3 hits, fanning 6 in a row -- Gandil, Risberg, Ray Schalk, Williams, Leibold, and Eddie Collins -- in the 2nd and 3rd. Once again a big inning gives the Reds a victory. A couple of hits, some slow fielding, and poor throws by Jackson and Happy Felsch result in 4 Reds scoring in the 6th for a 5-0 win, their 4th in 5 games. Lefty Williams is the loser. Sox C Schalk is the 2nd man to be thrown out of a WS game when he disagrees with the call on Heinie Groh's slide at home. » October 9, 1919: Lefty Williams gets one man out in the first before departing. The Reds lead 4-0, and go on to give Hod Eller a 10-5 victory and the Reds the world title in 8 games. Joe Jackson hits the only HR of the Series. Eddie Collins's 3 hits give him a total of 42 in WS play, a record broken in 1930 by Frank Frisch, and bettered by Lou Gehrig in 1938. A SB by Collins is his 14th in WS competition, a record tied by Lou Brock in 1968. » September 4, 1920: Eddie Collins has two hits in the nitecap against the Browns, as the White Sox win 5–2. Collins has hit safely since August 21, and will ring up a 22-game hitting streak through September 13. » September 17, 1920: The first place Indians top the A's, 9–3, while the White Sox, behind Red Faber, are again beating the Yankees, 6–4. Faber gets first inning help from Eddie Collins, Joe Jackson, and Happy Felsch who all hit two-out triples: Collins and Jackson triple later as Chicago totals an American League record six triples. The 3rd place Sox are one 1/2 games back. » November 1, 1922: Former A's C Ira Thomas buys the Shreveport club in the Texas League for $75,000. Other former players who own pieces of minor league clubs include Ty Cobb (Augusta), Eddie Collins (Baltimore), and George Stallings (Rochester). » September 14, 1924: Hours after beating the Tigers in Detroit, Walter Johnson receives word he's been elected American League MVP with 55 points. White Sox 2B Eddie Collins is a distant 2nd. He was runner-up to Ruth last year. » December 11, 1924: Eddie Collins signs as player-manager of the White Sox. » June 3, 1925: White Sox manager Eddie Collins makes hit No. 3,000 versus Detroit. » November 11, 1926: Eddie Collins is released as White Sox manager; he'll rejoin the A's as a player-coach. C Ray Schalk takes his place. » May 11, 1927: In Detroit, it is Ty Cobb Day and more than 30,000 pay to see the former Tiger manager in his first appearance at Navin Field in an A's uniform. With Eddie Collins on base in the first inning, Cobb drives a double into the overflow crowd to start the A's to a 6–3 win. Lefty Grove is the victor. » May 13, 1927: With a bunt in the 3rd inning, Ty Cobb stretches his hit streak to 14 games as the A's pound the Tigers, 10–3. Howard Ehmke holds Detroit to six hits. Eddie Collins is 1-for-2 with four walks, and Al Simmons has a homer, double and single for the A's. » May 15, 1927: In St. Louis, Eddie Miller has his 2nd 4-hit day in a row, and Wally Schang is 3-for-3 with a grand slam to lead the Browns to an 8–6 win over the A's. Eddie Collins and Al Simmons homer for Philley. » May 19, 1927: White Sox players give their former manager Eddie Collins a wristwatch and diamond stickpin on his return to Chicago with the A's, then win 3–0 behind Tommy Thomas' 6th straight win. In addition to new Sox manager Ray Schalk, there are three ex-Sox managers present: the A's Eddie Collins and Kid Gleason, and umpire Clarence Rowland. Another ex-manager, Ty Cobb of the Tigers, hits in his 19th straight game. » July 13, 1927: Chicago admirers present Eddie Collins, now with the A's, with a new automobile. » May 24, 1928: In the first game of a doubleheader in Philadelphia, a major-league record 13 future Hall of Famers take the field as the first-place Yankees take on the 2nd-place A's. This number does not include non-playing Hall of Famers Herb Pennock and Stan Coveleski, managers Miller Huggins and Connie Mack, nor umpires Tom Connally and Bill McGowan. [HOFs: Earle Combs, Leo Durocher, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, and Waite Hoyt for New York; Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Mickey Cochrane, Al Simmons, Eddie Collins, Lefty Grove, and Jimmie Foxx for the A's.] Led by Lazzeri's three hits and six RBIs, the Yanks edge the A's, 9–7, handing the defeat to Lefty Grove. The A's win the nitecap, 5–2, behind rookie Ossie Orwell. » June 22, 1928: Journeyman hurler Hank Johnson of the Yankees blanks the star-studded Athletics 4-0. In the game for Connie Mack's team are Ty Cobb, Mickey Cochrane, Al Simmons, Jimmie Foxx, Eddie Collins, Tris Speaker, and Lefty Grove. » June 15, 1931: Cut-down day for major-league rosters brings the retirement of Eddie Collins and Harry Heilmann. Collins becomes a coach for the A's. Heilmann will return briefly to the Reds in 1932. » February 25, 1933: Multimillionaire sportsman Tom Yawkey buys the Boston Red Sox from the broke Robert Quinn. Young Tom's father, William Austin, was negotiating to buy the Tigers when he died and William Yawkey completed the deal. William Yawkey then adopted young Tom, who took on the Yawkey name and now uses his inheritance to buy the Red Sox. Yawkey intends to rebuild Fenway to boost attendance, which skidded to 182,150 last season. He also hires Eddie Collins as vice-president and GM. » January 24, 1939: George Sisler, Eddie Collins, and Willie Keeler are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the BBWAA. » June 12, 1939: The greatest gathering of members and future inductees of the Baseball Hall of Fame assembles in Cooperstown, NY, for the dedication of the museum. A six-inning game at Doubleday Field presents lineups studded with players who will be elected in the future, as Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson, Grover Alexander, Nap Lajoie, George Sisler, Eddie Collins, Tris Speaker, Cy Young, and Connie Mack accept their plaques. » June 3, 1952: Y. Yamasaki of the Chunichi Dragons steals six bases in a single game for a Japanese record. This ties the AL record of six set by Eddie Collins of Philadelphia in 1912; it is one behind the NL record set by George Gore in 1881 and Billy Hamilton of Philadelphia in 1894. » July 1, 1973: Luis Aparicio of the Red Sox steals the 500th base of his career in a 9–5 loss to Milwaukee. It is the highest total in the American League since Eddie Collins retired in 1930. » June 16, 1991: In a 7-6 loss to Montreal, the Braves' Otis Nixon steals six bases to set a new National League mark, and tie the major league record of Eddie Collins, who did it twice in 1912. Nixon singles to lead off the 9th and steals 2nd. After two are out, he steals 3B uncontested. Told afterwards he had tied the record, a surprised Nixon remarks, "I thought the record was held by Rickey Henderson or Vince Coleman. I don't know who this guy (Collins) is."