Ossee Schrecongost
The Fourth of July and baseball have tradition rich connection.
Although doubleheaders are nearly gone from today’s schedules at one time they were routine in the national pastime.
Back in 1905, a record for catchers was set in a twinbill featuring the Philadelphia A’s and the Boston Americans (Red Sox). The A’s won both games that day in Boston 5-2 and 4-2.
It was the second contest that was historic as Philadelphia backstop Ossee Schrecongost caught all 25 innings of the affair as Rube Waddell went the distance to get the win. Boston’s Cy Young also tossed a complete game.
Adding three frames behind the plate in the opener, Schrecongost worked a record 28 innings that afternoon.
Schrecongost was the primary catcher for the A’s that season as they won the American League pennant, but lost four games to one to the New York Giants in the World Series.
At 30-years old, Schrecongost played in a career-high 123 games with a .271 batting average with 19 doubles and six triples. He didn’t have a home run.
With a 27-10 mark and an ERA of 1.48, Waddell led the Philadelphia pitching staff that featured Eddie Plank (24-12) and Chief Bender (18-11).
The 38-year old Young was near the end of his career as he finished the season 18-19.
Played 11 Seasons in Majors
Schrecongost began his 11-year career in the National League during 1897 with Louisville. He also played with Cleveland and St. Louis in the NL.
With the formation of the AL in 1901, he joined Boston and went to Cleveland the following year before moving on to the A’s at the end of the 1902 season.
He played in Philadelphia until 1908 before he finished his big-league career with the Chicago White Sox at the end of that season.
Schrecongost appeared in 895 games and was a career .271 hitter. He managed to hit nine homers in his career.
After two more seasons in the minors, Schrecongost ironically played his last game at Louisville.
The Wrong Side of Perfect
Schrecongost appeared in a pair of perfect games on the losing end.
In 1904, Young and his Boston teammates beat the A’s 3-0 on May 5 in the first perfect game in the history of the AL.
In the final major league game of his career, Schrecongost and the White Sox were blanked by Cleveland’s Addie Joss 1-0 on Oct. 2, 1908.