Cross was a bowlegged wonder, cheered by Philadelphia fans in four different major leagues. He was primarily a catcher the first part of his career. When he switched to infield positions, he played them (until the rules were changed) using his catcher's mitt. With the Phillies on August 5, 1897, he set a still-standing ML record for most assists by a second baseman in a game, with 15 (12 innings).
Cross left Philadelphia in 1898 to become the everyday third baseman for St. Louis (NL). For the first 38 games of 1899, he managed the Cleveland Spiders (NL), who compiled the worst record in ML history - 20-134. He returned to Philadelphia as a member of the Athletics in 1901, the first AL season. From April 23, 1902 until May 8, 1905, he played in 447 consecutive games, all but one at third base. For seven straight seasons (1898-1904) he never batted below .290. Lave's brother, Amos, was a catcher for Louisville (AA) in 1885-87, and another brother, Frank, played one game for Cleveland (AL) in 1901. (ArB/JK)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»April 19, 1900: In the NL opener at Boston, 10,000 fans watch the Phils win 19-17 in 10 innings, the highest scoring season opener in history. Boston scored nine runs, including a major-league record three by pinch hitters, in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game at 17 apiece. At one point, Philadelphia led 16-4. The record of three pinch runners will be matched four times in the 20th century, all in the 9th inning. Buck Freeman and Lave Cross match homers. Al Orth goes all the way for the Phils, while Vic Willis starts for Boston with Kid Nichols in relief.
»July 8, 1902:
A rough outing as Boston righthander Doc Adkins faces 16 batters and gives up 12 hits and 12 runs in the 6th inning of a Philadelphia A's 22–9 win over the Somersets. Five players—Hartsel, Davis, Lave Cross, Seybold, and Murphy—collect two hits apiece in the frame. The A's new 2B Danny Murphy does not arrive until the 2nd inning and takes the field with no batting practice: he is 6-for-6, including a grand slam off Cy Young, while handling 12 chances flawlessly in a sensational debut. Teammate Harry Davis adds another grand slam to tie the major-league record for a game. The 45 hits —27 by the A's—by the two teams sets an American League record. Rube Waddell picks up the win, facing just three batters in relief, while singling in the big inning.
»August 7, 1903:
Reds SS Tommy Corcoran sets a ML mark when he records 14 assists in Cincinnati's 4-2 regulation win over the Cardinals. Lave Cross, in 1897, racked up 15 assists in a 12 inning game.
»December 23, 1905: Lave Cross, 38-year-old 3B, is sold to Washington by the Athletics. Cross set a major-league record in 1902 by driving in 108 runs without hitting a home run.
»September 3, 1906:
Kid Elberfeld, the hot-headed Tabasco Kid, assaults umpire Silk O'Loughlin and is forcibly removed by police in the first game of New York's 4-3 win over the Athletics. In the 2nd game, New York base runner Willie Keeler collides with SS Lave Cross trying to field a ground ball, and two runs score. O'Loughlin sees no interference, a call so hotly disputed by A's captain Harry Davis that, after eight minutes of arguing, the umpire forfeits the game to New York. For New York, it is a major-league record 5th straight doubleheader sweep in consecutive days.
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