Donie Bush
Owen Joseph "Donie" Bush was an American professional baseball player, manager, team owner, and scout. He was active in professional baseball from 1905 until his death in 1972. He was 84 years old.
Bush was the starting shortstop for the Detroit Tigers from 1908 to 1921 and an infielder for the Washington Senators from 1921 to 1923. He was recognized as one of the best defensive shortstops of the dead-ball era. He had more putouts, assists, and total chances than any other shortstop of the era, and his 1914 totals of 425 putouts and 969 chances are still American League records for shortstops. He also led the American League in assists by a shortstop on five occasions and holds the major league record with nine triple plays.
As a batter, Bush did not hit for a high batting average but was regularly among the major league leaders in drawing bases on balls, sacrifice hits, stolen bases, and runs scored. At the time of his retirement in 1923, Bush's 1,158 bases on balls ranked second in major league history. His 337 sacrifice hits still ranks fifth in major league history, and his 1909 total of 52 sacrifice hits is the fourth highest in major league history. He ranked among the American League leaders in stolen bases ten times, and, during the decade from 1910 to 1919, the only players to score more runs than Bush were Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, and Tris Speaker. Bush's 400 stolen bases as a Tiger rank second in franchise history, behind only Cobb.
Bush also served as a manager in professional baseball for the Washington Senators, Indianapolis Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Minneapolis Millers, and Louisville Colonels. His 1927 Pittsburgh Pirates won the National League pennant and lost to the 1927 Yankees in the World Series. Bush was also a co-owner of the Louisville Colonels and Indianapolis Indians, president of the Indians, and a scout for the Boston Red Sox. He was given the title "King of Baseball" during Major League Baseball's 1963 winter meetings. He was known as "Mr. Baseball" in Indianapolis and was an inaugural inductee of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame.
Early years
Bush was born in 1887 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was the son of Irish-American parents and raised on the east side of Indianapolis. His father died when Bush was a child, and at the time of the 1900 United States census, Bush was living with his mother and two older siblings in Center Township, near or in Indianapolis.Playing career
Career overview
Bush was one of the best defensive shortstops of the dead-ball era. He collected more putouts, assists, and total chances than any other shortstop of the era, and his 1914 total of 425 putouts is still the Major League record for shortstops. His 1914 total of 969 chances is also still the American League record. He also led the American League in assists by a shortstop on five occasions: 1909, 1911, 1912, 1914, and 1915. Bush also holds the Major League record for most career triple plays with nine. Bush's triple plays came on May 4, 1910, April 24, 1911, May 20, 1911, September 9, 1911, April 6, 1912, August 23, 1917, August 14, 1919, May 18, 1921, and September 14, 1921.As a batter, Bush ranked among the American League leaders in bases on balls 12 straight years, from 1909 through 1920, and led the league five times. His career high was 118 bases on balls in 1915. During the decade from 1910 to 1919, no Major League player had more bases on balls than Bush. At the time of his retirement in 1923, Bush had 1,158 walks, second best in Major League history trailing only Eddie Collins.
Bush also collected 337 sacrifice hits in his career, ranking him fifth on the all-time Major League leader list. He led the league with 52 sacrifice hits in 1909 and hit another 48 in 1920.
In 1920, Baseball Magazine rated Bush among the top ten players in Major League Baseball over the past decade in the categories of "waiters", "run-getters", and "base-stealers".
Bush was also one of the shortest players in the Major Leagues at five feet, six inches and weighed between 130 and 140 pounds. Bush once said, "I used to tell 'em it ain't how big you are, it's how good you are. But whenever another team had an uncommonly small player, I'd slip up and compare heights. Always turned out he was an inch taller than me."
Bush's nickname, "Donie", was reportedly bestowed on him as a result of a comment by Detroit teammate Ed Killian in 1909. Bush explained, "One day after I had struck out, I asked Eddie Killian what kind of ball I swung at and missed. Killian said it was a donie ball. I never learned what a donie ball was, but the Tigers started calling me Donie and the name just stuck."
;Career statistics
Minor leagues
Bush began his professional baseball career in 1905 playing for the Sault Ste. Marie Soos in the Copper Country Soo League. In 1906, he played portions of the season for the Zanesville Moguls in the Ohio–Pennsylvania League and the Saginaw Wa-was of the Southern Michigan League. In early August 1906, he was acquired by the Dayton Veterans of the Central League. He appeared in 58 games for Dayton, compiling a.158 batting average with 98 putouts and 156 assists.South Bend Greens
In 1907, he played for the South Bend Greens in the Central League. He appeared in 127 games, compiling a.279 batting average with nine doubles and seven triples. Baseball Magazine noted that, while playing in South Bend, Bush earned "the reputation of being the fastest, best all-around shortstop the Central League had ever seen."Indianapolis Browns
At the end of the 1907 season, after a good showing in South Bend, Bush was drafted by the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers, and was awarded to the Tigers. He was sold by the Detroit team to play the 1908 season for the Indianapolis Browns of the American Association. He appeared in 153 games for Indianapolis and was the team's starting shortstop with 330 putouts, 472 assists, 54 errors, 856 total chances, and a.937 fielding percentage. As a batter, he had 28 stolen bases, 18 sacrifice hits, seven triples, and a.247 batting average. He helped Indianapolis win the American Association pennant for 1908, and at the end of the 1908 season, The Sporting Life wrote that Bush was "generally credited with being the best ball player outside the big leagues during the season in the minors which has just closed.Detroit Tigers
1908 season
In late August 1908, Bush, then known as "Ownie", was sold by the Indianapolis club to the Detroit Tigers. He joined the Tigers in mid-September after Detroit's starting shortstop, Charley O'Leary, had been injured. Bush replaced O'Leary at shortstop for the team's final 20 regular season games. Bush's performance in the final weeks of the season, during a tight pennant race, was credited with having "thrust the panting Tigers first over the line." Because Bush had not been with the Tigers for more than 30 days, he was ineligible to play in the 1908 World Series. At the end of the 1908 season, Baseball Magazine wrote:This diminutive and youthful shortstop came to the rescue of the Detroit club and made it possible for them to win the American League pennant.... He helped to win the American Association pennant for the Hoosiers by his wonderful all around work, and then came on to Detroit in time to save Jennings' team from defeat. He is about as fast as Cobb on the bases, a great fielding shortstop and a good batsman, a man who hits right or left handed with equal efficiency.
1909 season
In January 1909, Bush signed a contract to return to the Tigers, and he became the Tigers' starting shortstop for the next 13 seasons. He compiled a.273 batting average and a.380 on-base percentage in 1909 and led the American League with 676 plate appearances, 88 bases on balls, and 52 sacrifice hits. His 52 sacrifice hits remains the fourth highest single season total in major league history, and his.380 on-base percentage was the third highest in the American League in 1909 behind teammate Ty Cobb and Eddie Collins. His 114 runs scored was second in the league behind only Cobb. Bush's 52 stolen bases also set an American League rookie record that stood for 83 years until Kenny Lofton stole 66 bases in 1992.Bush also played in all seven games of the 1909 World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming the surprise hitting star for Detroit. With Detroit stars Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford slumping in the World Series, Bush hit.318 with an on-base percentage of.483. He also scored five runs, collected five bases on balls, was twice hit by a pitch, and compiled nine putouts, 18 assists, and three double plays.