Chick Fulmer

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Chick Fulmer

|position=Shortstop

|image=Chick Fulmer1878.jpg

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date|1851|2|13|mf=y}}

|birth_place=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

|death_date={{death date and age|1940|2|15|1851|2|12}}

|death_place=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=June 5

|debutyear={{Baseball year|1871}}

|debutteam=Rockford Forest Citys

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=August 16

|finalyear={{Baseball year|1884}}

|finalteam=St. Louis Browns

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.260

|stat2label=Home runs

|stat2value=8

|stat3label=RBI

|stat3value=262

|teams=

; National Association of Base Ball Players

: Olympic of Philadelphia (1868)

: Keystone of Philadelphia (1869)

: Cleveland Forest Citys (1870)

; League player

: Rockford Forest Citys (1871)

: New York Mutuals (1872)

: Philadelphia White Stockings (1873–75)

: Louisville Grays (1876)

: Buffalo Bisons (1879–80)

: Cincinnati Red Stockings (1882–84)

: St. Louis Browns (1884)

}}

Charles John "Chick" Fulmer (February 13, 1851 – February 15, 1940) was an American Major League Baseball player who played shortstop from {{Baseball year|1871}} to {{Baseball year|1884}}. He played for the Rockford Forest Citys, New York Mutuals, Philadelphia White Stockings, Louisville Grays, Buffalo Bisons, Cincinnati Red Stockings, and St. Louis Browns. His brother, Washington Fulmer, also played a single game at the major league level.

Early life

Fulmer was born in Philadelphia, and he came from a family of soldiers. His father Michael was a major in the Union Army before becoming a butcher in Philadelphia. Fulmer's grandfather John fought in the American Revolution, and his great-grandfather Michael was involved in the French and Indian War.{{cite book|last1=Shiffert|first1=John|title=Base Ball in Philadelphia: A History of the Early Game, 1831-1900|date=2006|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=9780786427956|pages=207–209|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tLvUMZsVuL0C&pg=PA207|language=en}} Fulmer tried to serve in the Civil War himself by joining the Southwark Guards, but he was 14 years old and he was sent home before he saw any battle.{{cite book|editor1-last=Tiemann|editor1-first=Robert L.|editor2-last=Rucker|editor2-first=Mark|title=Nineteenth Century Stars: 2012 Edition|date=2012|publisher=Society for American Baseball Research |location=Phoenix|isbn=9781933599298|pages=100–101|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UfgAAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA100|language=en}}

Career

Fulmer made his major league debut for the Rockford Forest Citys in 1871, the first year that games were played in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. He played for the league's New York Mutuals in 1872 before moving on to a three-year stint with the Philadelphia White Stockings. He claimed that he executed the first major league unassisted triple play in 1873, but MLB lists the first one as being earned by another player in 1909.{{cite web|title=Rare Feats|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/rare_feats/index.jsp?feature=unassisted_triple_plays|website=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123140034/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/rare_feats/index.jsp?feature=unassisted_triple_plays|archive-date=January 23, 2018|language=en}} The league folded after the 1875 season.

In 1876, Fulmer received his only opportunity to manage at the major league level; he was a player-manager for the Louisville Grays in the first year of the National League's existence. The team finished 30–36.{{cite book|last1=Skipper|first1=John C.|title=A Biographical Dictionary of Major League Baseball Managers|date=2011|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=9781476611129|page=110|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4jeCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA110|language=en}} He played in the minor leagues for a couple of seasons before his Buffalo Bisons were admitted to the National League in 1879. He stayed with Buffalo in 1880, but he struggled to hit and he did not play much.{{cite web|title=Chick Fulmer Stats {{!}} Baseball-Reference.com|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fulmech01.shtml|website=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=February 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711194947/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fulmech01.shtml|archive-date=July 11, 2017|language=en|url-status=live}}

Before the 1881 season, there was talk that Fulmer would be signed by the Detroit Wolverines, but manager Frank Bancroft ultimately signed another player to fill his infield needs. Fulmer decided to sit out of baseball for a year, becoming the manager of a traveling theater troupe that staged productions of Uncle Tom's Cabin.{{cite book|last1=Martin|first1=Brian|title=The Detroit Wolverines: The Rise and Wreck of a National League Champion, 1881–1888|date=2017|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=9781476627861|page=47|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C_g9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA47|language=en}} He returned to baseball for three years in the American Association, playing with teams in Cincinnati and St. Louis. His last professional playing appearances were in 1885 with an independent team in Portland, Maine.

Later life

Fulmer came back to Philadelphia after his baseball career was over and he stayed there for the rest of his life. He worked as a magistrate, despite not having a college education or legal training. Later, he was a doorman for the Curtis Publishing Company in the Center City district.

Fulmer suffered a stroke in the late 1930s and he died in 1940. He was interred at Fernwood Cemetery in Fernwood, Pennsylvania.{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Bill|title=The Baseball Necrology: The Post-Baseball Lives and Deaths of More Than 7,600 Major League Players and Others|date=2009|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=9781476609300|page=140|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4oEwCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA140|language=en}} He was survived by his wife, Annie; they had married 65 years earlier. Fulmer's brother, Washington Fulmer, who played in one game for the hapless 1875 Brooklyn Atlantics, preceded him in death by more than 30 years.{{cite web|title=Washington Fulmer Stats {{!}} Baseball-Reference.com|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fulmewa01.shtml|website=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=February 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821192144/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fulmewa01.shtml|archive-date=August 21, 2016|language=en}} At the time of his death he had been the last living player from the 1873 season.