Hugh Duffy
Hugh Duffy
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 7", Weight 168 lb.
- Debut June 23, 1888
- Final Game April 13, 1906
- Born November 26, 1866 in Cranston, RI USA
- Died October 19, 1954 in Boston, MA USA
Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1945
Biographical Information[edit]
"His fielding, batting and base-running are of the highest order, and make him one of the greatest players in the profession." - Sporting Life, October 7, 1893
Hall of Famer Hugh Duffy has the highest full-season major league batting average of all time, hitting .440 in 1894. He had a 17-year major league career and also managed for 8 years. He won the 1894 Triple Crown, played on the top Boston Beaneaters teams of the 1890s, and had a lifetime batting average of .324. His teammates in the Beaneaters outfield included Hall of Famers Billy Hamilton and Tommy McCarthy.
Duffy was a Boston Red Sox coach in the late 1930s when Ted Williams came up. He worked with Williams on his hitting. When Williams was batting over .400 in 1941, a reporter asked him if he was going to break Duffy's all-time record for highest batting average, and Williams said he hoped not because he liked Duffy a lot.
Duffy originally came to the majors at age 21 with Cap Anson's 1888 Chicago White Stockings. George Van Haltren was one year older and the two of them tried to get playing time in the outfield. Both became regular outfielders in 1889 along with Jimmy Ryan. In 1890, Duffy and Ryan both played for Chicago's entry in the Players League. Duffy then moved in 1891 to the pennant-winning Boston Reds in the American Association, where he was a teammate of Dan Brouthers. He came to the Beaneaters in 1892, who won the pennant and repeated in 1893, 1897 and 1898.
Duffy turned the amazing feat of a career .300+ average in 4 different major leagues - the National League, the American Association, the Players League and the American League.
In 1901, he played for and managed the Milwaukee Brewers, in the American League's inaugural season as a major league. He later served stints as skipper of Harvard University (1918-1919), Boston College (1928-1930, a few years after the other Heavenly Twin had done so), the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, and Boston Red Sox and was also on the Red Sox coaching staff in 1931 and 1939. He also scouted for the Red Sox.
He was not particularly successful as a manager, finishing no higher than 4th in the league in 8 years of managing. He had more success managing in the minor leagues.
Notable Achievements[edit]
- NL Triple Crown (1894)
- NL Batting Average Leader (1894)
- NL Slugging Percentage Leader (1894)
- NL OPS Leader (1894)
- 2-time League At Bats Leader (1889/NL & 1890/PL)
- PL Runs Scored Leader (1890)
- 2-time League Hits Leader (1890/PL & 1894/NL)
- NL Total Bases Leader (1894)
- 2-time League Singles Leader (1891/AA & 1893/NL)
- NL Doubles Leader (1894)
- 2-time NL Home Runs Leader (1894 & 1897)
- 2-time League RBI Leader (1891/AA & 1894/NL)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 8 (1891 & 1893-1899)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 9 (1889-1895, 1897 & 1899)
- 200 Hits Seasons: 2 (1893 & 1894)
- 50 Stolen Bases Seasons: 4 (1889-1892)
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1945
| Preceded by N/A |
Milwaukee Brewers Manager 1901 |
Succeeded by Jimmy McAleer |
| Preceded by Charles Zimmer |
Philadelphia Phillies Manager 1904-1906 |
Succeeded by Billy Murray |
| Preceded by Billy Sullivan |
Chicago White Sox Manager 1910-1911 |
Succeeded by Nixey Callahan |
| Preceded by Ed Barrow |
Boston Red Sox Manager 1921-1922 |
Succeeded by Frank Chance |
Year-By-Year Managerial Record[edit]
Records Held[edit]
- Batting average, season, .440, 1894
- Batting average, right handed batter, season, .440, 1894
Further Reading[edit]
- Donald Hubbard: The Heavenly Twins of Boston Baseball: A Dual Biography of Hugh Duffy and Tommy McCarthy, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2008.
We're Social...for Statheads
Every Sports Reference Social Media Account
Site Last Updated:
Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction?
Subscribe to our Free Email Newsletter
Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE
Your All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database
Do you have a sports website? Or write about sports? We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Find out more.