Baseball Catcher Wickey McAvoy

		Wickey McAvoy
		Full Name: James Eugene McAvoy Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 5-11 Weight: 172 Born: Oct 22, 1894 in Rochester, New York Died: Jul 6, 1973 in Rochester, New York College: None Major League Debut: Sep 29, 1913

CAREER BATTING STATISTICS

BATTING

YEAR TEAM LG AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K OBP SLG

1913
1914
1915
1917
1918
1919
Phi
Phi
Phi
Phi
Phi
Phi
AL
AL
AL
AL
AL
AL
.111
.125
.190
.250
.244
.141
4
8
68
10
83
62
9
16
184
24
271
170
0
1
12
1
14
10
1
2
35
6
66
24
0
0
7
1
5
5
0
1
2
0
3
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
6
4
32
11
0
0
11
0
13
14
4
4
32
3
23
21
.200
.125
.236
.250
.283
.207
.111
.250
.250
.417
.284
.194

Totals AVG
.199 G
235 AB
674 R
38 H
134 2B
18 3B
8 HR
1 RBI
53 BB
38 K
87 OBP
.245 SLG
.254

BATTING BASERUNNING MISC

YEAR TEAM LG HBP GDP TB IBB SH SF SB CS SB% AB/HR AB/K

1913
1914
1915
1917
1918
1919
Phi
Phi
Phi
Phi
Phi
Phi
AL
AL
AL
AL
AL
AL
1
0
0
0
2
0
--
--
--
--
--
--
1
4
46
10
77
33
--
--
--
--
--
--
0
0
1
0
9
5
--
--
--
--
--
--
0
0
0
0
5
1
--
0
2
--
--
--
-.---
-.---
.000
-.---
-.---
-.---
--.-
--.-
--.-
24.0
--.-
--.-
2.3
4.0
5.8
8.0
11.8
8.1

Totals HBP
3 GDP
-- TB
171 IBB
-- SH
15 SF
-- SB
6 CS
2 SB%
.750 AB/HR
674.0 AB/K
7.7

CAREER FIELDING STATISTICS

YEAR	TEAM	LG	POS	G	Ch	PO	A	E	DP	FPCT
1913 1914 1915 1917 1918 1918 1918 1918 1919	Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi	AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL	C C C C OF 1B P C C	4 8 64 8 1 1 1 74 57	21 34 360 44 1 6 0 374 262	14 25 235 27 1 6 0 236 182	7 8 100 15 0 0 0 123 73	0 1 25 2 0 0 0 15 7	0 1 8 0 0 0 0 15 6	1.000 0.971 0.931 0.955 1.000 1.000 -.--- 0.960 0.973
Totals				G 218	Ch 1102	PO 726	A 326	E 50	DP 30	FPCT 0.955

CAREER PITCHING STATISTICS

YEAR

TEAM

ERA

AVG A

1918

Phi

0.00

0.2

.333

Totals

ERA
0.00

W
0

L
0

Sv
0

G
1

IP
0.2

H
1

R
0

ER
0

BB
0

K
0

AVG A
.333

YEAR TEAM LG GS CG Sho GF K/BB BB/9 K/9 RATIO HR HB IBB SH WP BK

1918
Phi
AL
0
0
0
1
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.50
1
0
0
0
0
0

Totals GS
0 CG
0 Sho
0 GF
1 K/BB
0.00 BB/9
0.00 K/9
0.00 RATIO
1.50 HR
1 HB
0 IBB
0 SH
0 WP
0 BK
0

James (Wickey) McAvoy caught for Babe Ruth in the minor leagues and later spent six big league seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics. Mr. McAvoy's first ambition was to become a pro baseball player, and the sport remained the chief interest in his life after his retirement.

Wickey never finished grade school, but he didn't have to because he knew he was going to be a pro ballplayer, said a friend, Ed Kreckman. He wasn't a very fast runner, but he could hit and he was a superior defensive catcher. Mr. McAvoy polished his game on the Rochester sandlots and began his pro career with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League in 1913. He caught for Babe Ruth, who was strickly a pitcher then.

Wickey liked to recall the skills of Ruth. He said nobody ever hit a ball as high or as far as Babe. And he considered Ruth one of the best pitchers he ever caught, too.

Philadelphia of the American League was Mr. McAvoy's next team, and he caught for Connie Mack's Athletics between 1914 and 1919. He appeared in 235 games, compiling a .199 career batting average and hitting one home run. His best year was 1918, when he hit .244 in 271 at bats, and even pitched to two batters, retiring both.

Mr. McAvoy played for George Stalling's Rochester Tribe and the Buffalo Bisons of the International League during the 1920s. When his pro career ended, he returned to the Rochester sandlots and caught for the semi-pro Island Cottage and Hart's STores teams. He played until he was past 40. Wickey really loved the game. He was always proud of his knarled fingers - they were all smashed up from catching the likes of Herb Pennock, Chief Bender and Eddie Plank - and Wickey said broken fingers never stopped him from playing ball.

Wickey remained a devoted baseball fan and regularly attended Red Wing games and ceremonies at Coopertown's Hall of Fame. He enjoyed watching modern baseball, but he felt today's players are too pampered and resented the fact that he never earned over $5000 a year in the big leagues. Mr. McAvoy was a charter member of the Stadium Club of Rochester (NY), serving as president in 1969. He was also a member of the Rochester Lodge of Elks, No. 24. James "Wickey" McAvoy died July 6, 1973 in Rochester, NY.

Information and photos contributed by Chris Reeves whose grandmother's cousin was Wickey.