Dave Foutz

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Dave Foutz

|image=Dave Foutz 1895 N566 Newsboy Tobacco Cabinet Card.jpg

|caption=1895 baseball card of Foutz

|position=Pitcher / First baseman / Outfielder / Manager

|birth_date={{birth date|1856|9|7}}

|birth_place=Carroll County, Maryland, U.S.

|death_date={{death date and age|1897|3|5|1856|9|7}}

|death_place=Waverly, Maryland, U.S.

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=July 29

|debutyear=1884

|debutteam=St. Louis Browns

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=May 14

|finalyear=1896

|finalteam=Brooklyn Bridegrooms

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Win–loss record

|stat1value=147–66

|stat2label=Earned run average

|stat2value=2.84

|stat3label=Strikeouts

|stat3value=790

|stat4label=Batting average

|stat4value=.276

|stat5label=Home runs

|stat5value=31

|stat6label=Runs batted in

|stat6value=750

|teams=

As player

St. Louis Browns ({{baseball year|1884}}–{{baseball year|1887}})
Brooklyn Bridegrooms/Grooms ({{baseball year|1888}}–{{baseball year|1896}})

As manager

Brooklyn Grooms/Bridegrooms ({{baseball year|1893}}–{{baseball year|1896}})

|highlights=

Led AA in ERA (2.11) and Wins (41) in 1886

}}

David Luther Foutz (September 7, 1856 – March 5, 1897) was an American Major League Baseball player for 13 seasons. He played multiple positions, including pitcher, from {{baseball year|1884}} to {{baseball year|1896}}, compiling a 147–66 career record, as well as first base and outfield. From {{baseball year|1893}} to {{baseball year|1896}}, he was the player-manager of the Brooklyn Bridegrooms.

Early life

David Luther Foutz was born in Carroll County, Maryland on September 7, 1856, the son of Solomon Augustus Foutz and Miriam Cook.[https://familysearch.org/search/record/results#count=75&query=%2Bgivenname%3Asolomon~%20%2Bsurname%3Afoutz~%20%2Bany_place%3Amaryland~ FamilySearch.org 1860 census] Always known as Dave, he was asthmatic all his life. When he was 21 Foutz drifted out to Leadville, Colorado and worked for a while in the lead mines. While in Leadville, Foutz started playing baseball, pitching for the Leadville Blues, an amateur team. Shortly after, he signed with the Bay City, Michigan minor league team, where he played until 1884.[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85029677/1897-04-22/ed-1/seq-2/ Phillipsburg Herald], Phillipsburg, Kansas, April 22, 1897 By 1884, Foutz's talent had been spotted by Chris von der Ahe, the owner of the St. Louis Browns of the American Association. He wanted Foutz's contract so badly he bought the entire Bay City, Michigan franchise. Before joining the major league, Foutz acquired a reputation as a gambler and drinker, figuring if he was going to die young, he would enjoy himself before.[https://books.google.com/books?id=1O1BFWv9v4sC&dq=glocke+foutz&pg=PA211 Baseball in 1889: Players Vs. Owners] by Daniel Merle Pearson, page 211

Major League Baseball career

File:Dave Foutz Lone Jack Cigarette baseball card.jpg

As a player, Dave Foutz was often called "Scissors" and other nicknames, due to his tall (6 foot 2 inch) and thin (161 pounds) build.[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/foutzda01.shtml BaseballReference.com] His first six seasons in the major leagues were spent in the American Association with the St. Louis Browns, all the while suffering from asthma. With the Browns he became their powerhouse right-hander who helped St. Louis win four straight American Association pennants. Along the way, Foutz built up an impressive record and on April 10, 1885, in an exhibition game, Foutz pitched a no-hitter to defeat the St. Louis Maroons, 7–0. Later on June 3, 1886, Foutz pitched a shutout against Brooklyn in what became a 19–0 rout.[https://baseballbiography.com/dave-foutz-1856 Dave Foutz] - Baseball Biography

But on August 14, 1887 while pitching against the Cincinnati Reds for St. Louis, Foutz was hit by a ball and suffered a broken thumb on his throwing hand.[https://books.google.com/books?id=y4eWB1cEpkEC Chris Von Der Ahe and the St. Louis Browns] by J. Thomas Hetrick Sidelined for nine weeks, when Foutz eventually returned to pitching‚ he was ineffective and his pitching career was virtually ended. While he was pitching, Foutz won 114 games over a four-year span from 1884–1887, with a career high of 41 in 1886. He ended up with a 147–66 record, which is a .690 percentage and is tied for third-best ever. In 1887, Foutz achieved a rare feat when he won 20 or more games as a pitcher (25) and drove in 100 or more runs as a hitter (108).{{cite web| url = https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/foutzda01.shtml| title = Dave Foutz Stats {{!}} Baseball-Reference.com}}

Leading up to the 1888 season, Foutz made the news when Chris von der Ahe, owner of the St. Louis Browns, sold the contracts for the not fully recovered Foutz, along with pitcher Bob Caruthers and catcher Doc Bushong. The sale was to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and their owner Charlie Byrne, who paid what was then the enormous sum of $19,000 for the trio.[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024442/1897-03-09/ed-1/seq-3/ The Morning Times], March 9, 1897, Page 3{{cite web|title=Noted Ball Player Dead|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/08/21/archives/noted-ball-player-dead.html|work=The New York Times|date=August 21, 1908|page=7|access-date=March 9, 2018}}

After the injury, Foutz pitched little for Brooklyn but helped the team to the 1889 American Association pennant and the 1890 National League flag. In both seasons, he was the regular first baseman. Later for four seasons (1893–96), Foutz was a playing manager, but Brooklyn never finished higher than fifth and Foutz was forced to resign in October 1896 after the end of the 1896 season.[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90059523/1897-10-01/ed-1/seq-5/ The Saint Paul Globe] October 25, 1896, Page 11[https://books.google.com/books?id=AUFUw01sIWYC&dq=glocke+foutz&pg=PA496 Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: A-F] edited by David L. Porter, page 496

=Unassisted pickoff=

Foutz is remembered for one great play that probably occurred in the game on September 3, 1886, where he picked off a runner unassisted. He was playing for the St. Louis Browns, who were facing the Louisville Colonels.[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/schedule.php?y=1886&t=SL4 Baseball Almanac][http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026844/1886-09-04/ed-1/seq-1/ The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer], Wheeling, West Virginia, September 4, 1886 The play was apparently orchestrated by a signal from catcher Doc Bushong, with Charles Comiskey playing first base. On base, the runners for the Colonels were Pete Browning on first and John Kerins on second.

{{blockquote|"(During) Sunday's game between St. Louis (and) Louisville, and in the presence of 6,000 persons, Foutz played the sharpest trick ever seen on the ball field. Browning was on first base and Kerins on second, with no one out. Pete played far off from the base, while Comiskey took a stand back into right field. Pete had his back turned toward second base, and was keeping an eye on the movements of Comiskey, while he eagerly pranced back and forth to show the crowd that he was not afraid to steal off a bag. Foutz pretended not to watch Browning, but suddenly Bushong signaled, and Foutz dashed over toward first base with the ball in hand, touching Browning before the latter knew what had happened. Such a play was never before seen, and the spectators howled with delight. Pete was mighty mad, and, as he has a faculty for being caught napping, the play was doubly embarrassing."

The Sporting News, September 13, 1886}}

Later life

File:Dave Foutzs Obituary.jpg

In 1889, Foutz married 28-year-old Minnie M Glocke and they lived in Brooklyn. Afterwards, he and his wife were constant companions and Foutz appeared to settle down from his younger days. But six years later, in 1895 Foutz's wife was institutionalized in an insane asylum and likely remained there until she died in 1898.[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85054468/1897-03-14/ed-1/seq-4/ The Times], Washington, D.C., March 14, 1897, Page 4 Never in good health, in January 1896, Foutz became dangerously ill with pneumonia and barely recovered.[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024442/1896-01-06/ed-1/seq-3/ The Morning Times], Washington, D.C., January 6, 1896, Page 3 After he was released from the Bridegrooms in October 1896, Foutz was considered for a manager in the minor leagues or as a possible umpire, but by January 1897, he was too ill to work and was under a doctor's care.[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1896-01-10/ed-1/seq-10/ Evening Star], Washington, D.C., January 10, 1896, Page 10[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87075048/1897-02-12/ed-1/seq-1/ The Ohio Democrat], February 12, 1897 On March 5, 1897, Foutz died at his mother's home in Waverly, a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland, of an asthma attack.{{cite news|title=Death of "Dave" Foutz – The Well-Known Baseball Man Falls a Victim to Asthma|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1897/03/06/archives/death-of-dave-foutz-the-wellknown-baseball-man-falls-a-victim-to.html|access-date=9 March 2018|work=New York Times|date=March 5, 1897|page=2}} He was buried in the Loudon Park Cemetery, in Baltimore City, Maryland.[https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=foutzda01 baseball-almanac] Newspapers reported his funeral was a sad and somber affair, attended by many former teammates and baseball players. Also in attendance were executives from the National League as well as his old Brooklyn and St. Louis ball clubs.[http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1897/VOL_28_NO_25/SL2825005.pdf Sporting Life], March 13, 1897, page 5.

References

External links

{{Baseballstats | br=f/foutzda01 | fangraphs=1004266|brm=foutz-001dav}}

[https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/foutzda01.shtml Baseball-Reference.com] – career managing record and playing statistics
{{Find a Grave|13576991}}

{{succession box | before = George Hemming | title = Brooklyn Grooms
Opening Day
starting pitcher| years = {{baseball year|1892}} | after = Ed Stein}}