Ed Lennox

James Edgar Lennox
(Eggie)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 174 lb.

• Debut August 8, 1906
• Final Game October 3, 1915
• Born November 3, 1885 in Camden, NJ USA
• Died October 26, 1939 in Camden, NJ USA

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Biographical Information

Ed "Eggie" Lennox played six years in the majors. He had four years in the National League, and then came back when the Federal League got started. He also played many seasons in the minors.

Lennox was born, and died, in Camden, NJ. He started out playing independent ball for a Camden team, and then moved to the Connecticut State League in 1905. Connie Mack gave him a look-see with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1906. it was an above-500 team that had John Knight, a .194 hitter, at third base. Ed, unfortunately, got one hit in 19 plate appearances.

He spent parts of 1906 to 1908 with the Rochester Bronchos, and his .274 batting average was the highest on the 1908 team; he also led the team in doubles. The next year, in 1909, he became a regular with the Brooklyn Superbas, managed by player-manager Harry Lumley. Ed's batting line of .262/.337/359, although it doesn't look like much, was one of the strongest on a weak-hitting team.

In 1910 the team had a new manager, Bill Dahlen, but Lennox continued as the regular third baseman. His .259/.333/.357 batting line was again well above the team averages. Despite those totals, Lennox crossed home plate only 19 times in 110 games. Excluding his 3 home runs, Ed scored only 12% of the time that he reached base, a modern era record low for a qualified season (Leo Cardenas's 12.3% scoring rate in 1972 is the lowest mark under the current definition for a qualified season). Lennox left the Superbas after that season, and in 1911 Brooklyn used Eddie Zimmerman at third, who batted .185.

Ed spent the year with the 1911 Louisville Colonels, and hit .331, second-highest on the team behind Moose Grimshaw. He came back to the majors for part of 1912 with the 1912 Cubs, a strong team, and his batting numbers were below the team averages. In any case, he wasn't going to dislodge third baseman Heinie Zimmerman, who hit .372 that year with considerable power.

Back in the minors, Ed hit .320 with the 1913 Montreal Royals. leading the team in OBP and SLG. As a result, he was back in the majors the following year in the new Federal League, at age 30. He was the hitting star of the team. The following year, he was still a strong hitter, but was used almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter.

He spent 1916 with the Atlanta Crackers, where he was one of the oldest players on a rather young team.

A site about Ed [1] claims that Ed was one of ten brothers (and one sister). He continued to play minor league ball through 1925, then played semi-pro ball, and in 1928 began to be an umpire for several seasons. Then he served as a scout. Two of his brothers played minor league ball and one brother was a professional basketball player. The site also carries an obituary, which called him "the best third baseman in the National League in 1909" and says he "often drew suspensions for battling".