Ollie Pickering

Ollie Pickering
Pickering at a 1921 Old Timers game at League Park, Cleveland.
Center fielder
Born: April 9, 1870 Olney, Illinois
Died: January 20, 1952 (aged 81) Vincennes, Indiana
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 9, 1896, for the Louisville Colonels
Last MLB appearance
October 8, 1908, for the Washington Senators
MLB statistics
Batting average	.272
Hits	910
Stolen bases	194
Teams
Louisville Colonels (1896–1897) Cleveland Spiders (1897) Cleveland Blues/Bronchos (1901–1902) Philadelphia Athletics (1903–1904) St. Louis Browns (1907) Washington Senators (1908)

Oliver Daniel Pickering (April 9, 1870 – January 20, 1952), was a professional baseball player and is noted as the first batter in American League history while playing for the Cleveland Blues in 1901. He went on that season to hit .309 and scored 102 runs for Cleveland. He played outfielder, primarily in center field, in the Major Leagues from 1896 to 1908. He would play for the Philadelphia Athletics, Louisville Colonels, Cleveland Spiders, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, and St. Louis Browns. Upon his retirement from playing the game, he became an umpire and later retired in Vincennes, Indiana.

The term "Texas Leaguer" is often attributed to the debut of Ollie Pickering, either in the majors or the Texas League, who came to bat and proceeded to run off a string of seven straight bloop hits.^[1]

References

1. "Texas Leaguers". The Sporting Life. April 21, 1906. p. 2.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference