:Wickey McAvoy
{{Short description|American baseball player (1894–1973)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Wickey McAvoy
|position=Catcher
|image=James_Wickey_McAvoy,_Philadelphia_AL_(baseball),_1914.jpg
|caption=McAvoy in 1914
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{Birth date|1894|10|20}}
|birth_place=Rochester, New York
|death_date={{Death date and age|1973|7|6|1894|10|20}}
|death_place=Rochester, New York
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=September 29
|debutyear=1913
|debutteam=Philadelphia Athletics
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 16
|finalyear=919
|finalteam=Philadelphia Athletics
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=Batting average
|stat1value=.199
|stat2label=Home runs
|stat2value=1
|stat3label=Runs batted in
|stat3value=53
|teams=
- Philadelphia Athletics ({{mlby|1913}}–{{mlby|1915}}, {{mlby|1917}}–{{mlby|1919}})
}}
James Eugene "Wickey" McAvoy (October 20, 1894 – July 6, 1973) was an American professional baseball player. He played part or all of six seasons in Major League Baseball between 1913 and 1919 for the Philadelphia Athletics, primarily as a catcher. After his major league career, he continued to play minor league baseball until 1928.
Major League Baseball career
Wickey made his major league debut on September 29, 1913 at the age of 18 as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics. He continued to play for the Athletics on-and-off again until September 16, 1919. His career batting average in the major leagues was .199. He played the greatest number of games in 1915 (64 games), 1918 (74 games), and 1919 (57 games).{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcavowi01.shtml|title=Wickey McAvoy Stats {{!}} Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com|language=en|access-date=2018-10-09}}
Minor League Baseball career
Wickey played minor league baseball for the Baltimore Orioles for part of the season in 1914, 1916, 1917, 1922, and 1923. He was part of the International League Championship teams in 1922 and 1923. With a batting average of .310 in 1922,{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mcavoy001jam|title=Wickey McAvoy Minor Leagues Statistics & History {{!}} Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com|language=en|access-date=2018-10-09}} Wickey had several key hits that attributed to the Orioles taking the pennant in 1922.{{Cite news|title=Baltimore Club Outclasses Champion of Association|date=October 13, 1922|work=The Baltimore Sun}}
Wickey returned to his hometown of Rochester, New York in 1923 and played for the Rochester Tribe in 1923, 1926, and 1927. Wickey's career also included two seasons with the Buffalo Bisons in 1924 and 1925. In 1928, Wickey played his last season in the minor leagues for the Reading Keystones. He ended his career in 1929 at the age of 34 playing for the Elmira Colonels in the New York-Pennsylvania League.{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mcavoy001jam|title=Wickey McAvoy Minor Leagues Statistics & History {{!}} Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com|language=en|access-date=2018-10-09}}
Personal life
Wickey married Bessie Peterson of Kenosha, Wisconsin on April 12, 1923. Wickey and Bessie met in 1921 when Wickey was playing independent baseball in Kenosha.{{Cite news|title=Will Wed Oriole Star Catcher Today|date=April 12, 1923|work=The Baltimore Sun}} They had two children Elaine (McAvoy) Fischer and William "Billy" McAvoy.
References
- {{Baseballstats |mlb= |espn= |br=m/mcavowi01 |fangraphs= |cube= |brm=mcavoy001jam}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McAvoy, Wickey}}
Category:Major League Baseball catchers
Category:Philadelphia Athletics players
Category:Berlin Busy Bees players
Category:Baltimore Orioles (International League) players
Category:Rochester Tribe players
Category:Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Category:Reading Keystones players
External Sources
- [https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/wickey-mcavoy/ Wickey McAvoy] at SABR Bio Project
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