And there shall be no mockery of his name
John (Jack) Wesley Glasscock —with a career spanning over twenty years in the major and minor leagues—is considered by many to be the best shortstop of the nineteenth century. The baseball card shown here is by Goodwin & Co. (1887), part of the first nationally-distributed set of cards. It’s from when Glasscock was captain of the short-lived Indianapolis Hoosiers (1886-1889).
Nicknamed “Pebbly Jack” (I guess cock jokes were not the rage yet in the 1890s), Glasscock was known to scour the field for tiny rocks that could effect the ball in play. This would also play a huge role in his career fielding percentage that stood untouched for nearly 100 years!
Major League Fielding Stats:
– Games: 1740
– Putouts: 3163
– Assists: 5949
– Errors: 895
– Double Plays: 656
– Fielding Percentage: .911Major League Batting Stats:
– Avg: .294
– Games: 1736
– At Bats: 7071
– Hits: 2081
– RBIs: 825
– Strikeouts: 212
Equally well known were his colorfully foul-mouthed outbursts which would often get him ejected from games. One instance even caused a group of women—who had formed a club to support major league teams at the time—to boycott every game in which Glasscock appeared. This of course also made him top fodder for many sports writers of the time.
After his career ended in 1901, he returned to a life of carpentry. He died in 1947 at the age of 89 from a stroke at Ohio Valley General Hospital.
Glasscock has yet to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
See Also:
Glasscock’s Complete Stats
Jack Glasscock on Wikipedia
A collection of clippings, 1887-1892
