David "Gentleman Dave" Julius Malarcher (October 18, 1894 – May 11, 1982) was an American third baseman in Negro league baseball. He played for the Indianapolis ABCs, Detroit Stars, and Chicago American Giants from 1916 to 1934.
| Dave Malarcher | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Third baseman | |
| Born: October 18, 1894 St. James Parish, Louisiana | |
| Died: May 11, 1982 (aged 87) Chicago, Illinois | |
Batted: Both Threw: Right | |
| debut | |
| 1916, for the Indianapolis ABCs | |
| Last appearance | |
| 1934, for the Chicago American Giants | |
| Negro league statistics | |
| Batting average | .264 |
| Home runs | 7 |
| Runs scored | 399 |
| Managerial record | 263–156–9 |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
As player
As manager
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Malarcher won three pennants as manager, one of eight managers to ever do so in Negro league baseball.[1]
Background
editIn his own words, captured in documentary, Malarcher's mother was born in slavery. His father was the head workman on a big plantation. He was the youngest of 11 children, and grew up in Union, Louisiana. He started playing baseball at a very young age, and had older brothers also playing baseball, his oldest brother playing on the men's team.[2]
Playing career
editMalarcher was attending New Orleans University and playing for the New Orleans Eagles at the age of 22 in 1916 when he was picked up by the Indianapolis ABCs who were traveling back from the winter baseball league in Cuba. The ABCs offered him $50 a month for his first contract.
In 1917, at the age of 22, Malarcher registered for the World War I draft.[3] He listed his current address as 446 Indiana Avenue in Indianapolis, Indiana; the listing stated his current employment as a ball player and employed by C.I. Taylor with his mother as a dependent.
Malarcher was drafted in 1918 and served for the 369th Infantry Regiment where it was stated that the regiment was denied a combat role under the U.S. flag, so the regiment served under the French flag. The regiment returned to a parade down Lenox Avenue in Harlem, New York.[2]
After the war, Malarcher went to work for Rube Foster, playing for the Detroit Stars, and then the Chicago American Giants.[2] In his final game as manager, the Giants played the Philadelphia Stars in a matchup of first half and second half champions. The series went eight games (after one game was a tie), culminating with Malarcher protesting the eighth game when Stars Jud Wilson punched umpire Bert Gholston during the game. League commissioner Rollo Wilson did not let the protest go through and the Stars won the game and pennant. Malarcher retired in the early months of 1939 and later became a real estate broker. He later served as a member of Society for American Baseball Research, where he once wrote a tribute to Oscar Charleston.[4][5]
He managed Chicago for seven seasons (two fragmented), winning the Negro World Series twice while winning a Negro Southern League pennant. Six managers beside him won three pennants, but only Vic Harris won more. He was the first of only two managers to lead a team to the series title twice, with the only other manager being Candy Jim Taylor nearly two decades later.
References
edit- ^ "2022 Early Baseball Era Committee Candidate: Vic Harris". 4 December 2021.
- ^ a b c "There was always Sun Shining Someplace: Life in the Negro Leagues" Refocus Productions, Refocus Films, Internet Archive, Publication Date 1983
- ^ "WWI Draft Registration for Dave Malarcher," 6th Ward, Precinct 4, Indianapolis, Indiana, June 5, 1917
- ^ https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/dave-malarcher-2/
- ^ https://sabr.org/journal/article/oscar-charleston/
External links
edit- Career statistics from MLB, or Baseball Reference and Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats and Seamheads
- Dave Malarcher managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com and Seamheads