Career
Born in Rochester, New York, he is credited with employing the first slide in an organized baseball game, while playing for the 1866 Rockford Forest Citys of the National Association of Base Ball Players. He was still playing for the Forrest Citys in 1869, and was with them two years later when Rockford joined the first all-professional league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players.
Rockford lasted just the one season in the Association, and Addy did not rejoin the league until 1873 when joined the Philadelphia White Stockings. He played in ten games as player-manager, before moving on and joining the Boston Red Stockings later in the season. He helped the Red Stockings win the league title that year, playing in right field, hitting .355, and finished ninth in the league with a .354 on-base percentage. On January 20, 1874, the National Association's Judiciary Committee met to discuss, among other things, charges that Addy had joined the Boston Red Stockings before 60 days had elapsed since leaving the Philadelphia club. He was acquitted of the charge and was allowed to play.
He did not play for the Red Stockings in 1874, as he signed to play for the Hartford Dark Blues, but his batting declined to .239, and his on-base percentage dropped to .243. For the 1875 season, he re-joined the Philadelphia White Stockings, playing in a career high 69 games. He batted .258, and finished ninth in the league with 16 stolen bases. For one game on October 28, 1875, Addy was used as a National Association umpire.
At season's end, the Association folded, as was replaced by National League, and Addy joined the Chicago White Stockings. Chicago won the league title that season, with Addy playing 32 games, and hitting .282. Addy moved to his second Major League team in two years, and sixth team in seven years, when he joined the Cincinnati Reds, playing every day in right field, and later took over as the team's manager after Lip Pike quit the position.
Read more about this topic: Bob Addy
Famous quotes containing the word career:
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—William Cobbett (1762–1835)