Milt Scott
{{Short description|American baseball player (1861–1938)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Milt Scott
|position=First baseman
|image=Milt Scott.jpg
|bats=Right
|throws=Unknown
|birth_date={{Birth date|1861|1|17}}
|birth_place=Chicago, Illinois, US
|death_date={{death date and age|1938|11|3|1861|1|17}}
|death_place=Baltimore, Maryland, US
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=September 30
|debutyear={{Baseball year|1882}}
|debutteam=Chicago White Stockings
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=October 14
|finalyear={{Baseball year|1886}}
|finalteam=Baltimore Orioles
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=Batting average
|stat1value=.228
|stat2label=Home runs
|stat2value=5
|stat3label=Runs batted in
|stat3value=132
|teams=
- Chicago White Stockings (1882)
- Detroit Wolverines (1884–85)
- Pittsburgh Alleghenys (1885)
- Baltimore Orioles (1886)
}}
Milton Parker Scott (January 17, 1861 – November 3, 1938), nicknamed "Mikado Milt", was an American professional baseball player whose career spanned from 1882 to 1889. He appeared in 341 Major League Baseball games over four seasons as a first baseman for the Chicago White Stockings (one game, 1882), Detroit Wolverines (148 games, 1884–85), Pittsburgh Alleghenys (55 games, 1885) and Baltimore Orioles (137 games, 1886). He compiled a .228 batting average with 42 doubles, 10 triples, five home runs, and 132 RBIs.
Early years
Scott was born in 1861 at Chicago, Illinois. His father, William Scott, was an immigrant from Scotland who was employed as a commission merchant. His mother, Emily R. Scott, was an immigrant from Canada.Census entry for William Scott. Son Milton P. Scott, age 9, born in Illinois. Source Citation: Year: 1870; Census Place: Chicago Ward 16, Cook, Illinois; Roll: M593_209; Page: 156B; Image: 316; Family History Library Film: 545708. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line].
At age 18, Scott "ran away" from Lake Forest College to play baseball at Fort Wayne, Indiana. The next year, he joined a semi-pro team owned by Albert Spalding.{{cite web|title=Milton P. Scott Obituary|work=Spalding Base Ball Guide|year=1939|page=439|url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=spalding&fileName=00179/spalding00179.db&recNum=440&itemLink=S%3Fammem%2Fspaldingbib%3A@field%28TITLE%2B@od1%28Spalding%27s%2Bofficial%2Bbase%2Bball%2Bguide%2C%2B1939%29%29}}
Career
Scott began his major league baseball career on September 30, 1882, appearing in a single game for Cap Anson's Chicago White Stockings. He went two-for-five and scored a run in his only game for the team.
Scott played the 1883 season in the minor leagues with the Fort Wayne Hoosiers of the Northwestern League.{{cite web|title=Milt Scott Minor League Statistics|work=baseball-reference.com|accessdate=July 3, 2014|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=scott-001mil}}
In January 1884, Scott was purchased from Fort Wayne by the Detroit Wolverines of the National League. He returned to the major leagues as the Wolverines' starting first baseman and appeared in 110 games during the 1884 season. He had the best offensive year of his career with a .247 batting average, 17 doubles, five triples, three home runs, and 50 RBIs.
Scott remained with the Wolverines for the first couple months of the 1885 season and hit .264 in 38 games. He was sold to the Pittsburgh Alleghenys in late June and hit .248 in 55 games for that team.
In April 1886, the Alleghenys assigned Scott to the Baltimore Orioles. He was the Orioles' starting first baseman in 1886, appearing in 137 games at the position. However, his batting average dropped to .190, and he appeared in his final major league game on October 14, 1886, at age 25.
Although his major league career ended in 1886, Scott continued to play in the minor leagues through the 1889 season, including stints with the LaCrosse Freezers of the Northwestern League (player-manager, 1887), Kansas City Cowboys of the Western League (1887), Chicago Maroons of the Western Association (1888), and Utica Braves of the New York State League (player-manager, 1889).
Nickname and later years
During his baseball career, Scott was also an expert handball player. He was nicknamed "Mikado Milt". Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, a satirical comic opera set in Japan, opened in March 1885;{{cite book|author=Bill James|title=The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2010|page=48}} by February 1886, The Sporting Life reported that "the 'Mikado' craze has invaded base ball, and we hear of amateur 'Mikado' clubs in all directions."{{cite news|title=Notes and Comments|newspaper=The Sporting Life|date=February 24, 1886|page=4|url=http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1886/VOL_06_NO_20/SL0620004.pdf}}
Scott was married in approximately 1886 to Mary (or May) Zell. In 1900, Scott and his wife were living in Chicago. Scott was employed at that time as a police telephone operator.Census entry for Milton P. Scott, born in Illinois. Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Chicago Ward 31, Cook, Illinois; Roll: 284; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 0976; FHL microfilm: 1240284. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. By 1920 and still in 1930, Scott and his wife were living in Baltimore, Maryland. Scott was employed in 1920 as an insurance solicitor and was not employed in 1930.Census entry for Milton P. Scott, age 68, born in Illinois. Source Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: Baltimore, Baltimore (Independent City), Maryland; Roll: 861; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0271; Image: 441.0; FHL microfilm: 2340596. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line].Census entry for Milton P. Scott, age 58, born in Illinois. Source Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: Baltimore Ward 16, Baltimore (Independent City), Maryland; Roll: T625_660; Page: 34A; Enumeration District: 277; Image: 300. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line].
Scott died in 1938 in Baltimore at age 77. He was buried at Loudon Park Cemetery in Baltimore.{{cite web|title=Milt Scott Statistics and History|work=baseball-reference.com|accessdate=July 3, 2014|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/scottmi01.shtml}}
References
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Category:Major League Baseball first basemen
Category:Chicago White Stockings players
Category:Detroit Wolverines players
Category:Pittsburgh Alleghenys (AA) players
Category:Baltimore Orioles (AA) players
Category:Fort Wayne Hoosiers players
Category:LaCrosse Freezers players
Category:Kansas City Cowboys (minor league) players
Category:Chicago Maroons players