George Stovall

George Thomas Stovall (Firebrand)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 180 lb.

• Debut July 4, 1904
• Final Game October 3, 1915
• Born November 23, 1877 in Leeds, MO USA
• Died November 5, 1951 in Burlington, IA USA

BR page

BR Manager page

[edit] Biographical Information

Stovall (left) speaks with Vince DiMaggio at a California shipyard during WW2 in a gov't propaganda photo.

George Stovall played twelve years in the majors during the dead-ball era and was also a player-manager during five of those years.

He primarily played first base, although early in his career he filled in quite a bit at other infield positions and occasionally in the outfield.

Not a great hitter, his best year with the bat was 1908 when he was seventh in the league in both batting average and slugging percentage.

Reputed to have a hot temper, he was nevertheless a very popular player in Cleveland. The fans were sorry to see him go to St. Louis, where he was player-manager for a couple years but left under a cloud of controversy. While with the Federal League he was successful in luring quite a few major leaguers over to the new league.

The most similar player is his contemporary Kitty Bransfield.

George's brother Jesse Stovall pitched for the 1903 Cleveland Naps with a record of 5-1 in the year before George came up. The following year, George made his debut but Jesse was with the 1904 Detroit Tigers.

George played for Toledo in 1916 and managed Vernon in 1917. He then worked in the shipyards during WWI. He managed Jacksonville in 1922. Afterwards he managed semi-pro teams in California and was a coach at Loyola Marymount University. He then scouted for Pittsburgh and later again worked in the shipyards, building Liberty ships in the California shipyards during WW2 (as shown in the picture above).

One main source: The Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia.

[edit] Year-By-Year Managerial Record

[edit] Related Sites