View source for Eddie Collins

{{short description|American baseball player (1887–1951)}}
{{about|the American Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman and manager|his son|Eddie Collins Jr.|other people with this name|Eddie Collins (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Eddie Collins
|image=Eddie Collins 1911.jpg
|caption=Collins with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1911
|position=[[Second baseman]] / [[Manager (baseball)|Manager]]
|birth_date={{birth date|1887|5|2}}
|birth_place=[[Millerton, New York]], U.S.
|death_date={{Death date and age|1951|3|25|1887|5|2}}
|death_place=[[Boston]], Massachusetts, U.S.
|bats=Left
|throws=Right
|debutleague=MLB
|debutdate=September 17
|debutyear=1906
|debutteam=Philadelphia Athletics
|finalleague=MLB
|finaldate=August 2
|finalyear=1930
|finalteam=Philadelphia Athletics
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.333
|stat2label=[[Hit (baseball)|Hit]]s
|stat2value=3,315
|stat3label=[[Home run]]s
|stat3value=47
|stat4label=[[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
|stat4value=1,300
|stat5label=[[Stolen base]]s
|stat5value=745
|stat6label=Managerial record
|stat6value=174–160
|stat7label=Winning %
|stat7value={{winning percentage|174|160}} 
|teams=
'''As player'''
* [[Philadelphia Athletics]] ({{Baseball year|1906}}–{{Baseball year|1914}})
* [[Chicago White Sox]] ({{Baseball year|1915}}–{{Baseball year|1926}})
* [[Philadelphia Athletics]] ({{Baseball year|1927}}–{{Baseball year|1930}})
'''As manager'''
* [[Chicago White Sox]] ({{Baseball year|1924}}–{{Baseball year|1926}})
|highlights=
* 6× [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1910}}, {{wsy|1911}}, {{wsy|1913}}, {{wsy|1917}}, {{wsy|1929}}, {{wsy|1930}})
* [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|AL MVP]] (1914)
* 4× [[List of Major League Baseball annual stolen base leaders|AL stolen base leader]] (1910, 1919, 1923, 1924)
* [[Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame]]
* [[Athletics Hall of Fame]]
* [[Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame]]
|hoflink = National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
|hoftype = National
|hofdate=[[1939 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1939]]
|hofvote=77.7% (fourth ballot)
}}

'''Edward Trowbridge Collins Sr.''' (May 2, 1887 – March 25, 1951), nicknamed "'''Cocky'''", was an American professional [[baseball]] player, [[manager (baseball)|manager]] and executive. He played as a [[second baseman]] in [[Major League Baseball]] from {{Baseball year|1906}} to {{Baseball year|1930}} for the [[Philadelphia Athletics]] and [[Chicago White Sox]]. A graduate of [[Columbia University]], Collins holds major league career records in several categories and is among the top few players in several other categories. In 1925, Collins became just the sixth person to join the [[3,000 hit club]] – and the last for the next 17 seasons.<ref name="Eddie Collins at the Baseball Hall of Fame">{{cite news|url=http://baseballhall.org/hof/collins-eddie|title=Eddie Collins at the Baseball Hall of Fame|publisher=baseballhall.org|access-date=2017-04-29}}</ref> His 47 career home runs are the fewest of any player with 3,000 hits. Collins is the only non-[[New York Yankees|Yankee]] to win five or more [[World Series]] titles with the same club as a player. He is also the only player to have been a member of all five World Series championships won by the Athletics during the franchise's time in Philadelphia.

Collins coached and managed in the major leagues after retiring as a player. He also served as general manager of the [[Boston Red Sox]]. In [[1939 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1939]], Collins was inducted into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]].<ref name="Eddie Collins at the Baseball Hall of Fame"/>

==Early life==
Edward Trowbridge Collins Sr. was born on May 2, 1887, in [[Millerton, New York|Millerton]], [[New York (state)|New York]], a 384-acre village in [[Dutchess County, New York|Dutchess County]].<ref name="Eddie Collins at the Baseball Hall of Fame"/>

==College career==
Collins was an Ivy League graduate who was notable for his offensive skill set and base-stealing capabilities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eddie Collins (2006) - Hall of Fame |url=https://gocolumbialions.com/honors/hall-of-fame/eddie-collins/5 |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=Columbia University Athletics |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-04 |title=The Baseball Legend Who Wore "Clean Sox" |url=https://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/issue/spring20/article/baseball-hall-famer-who-wore-%E2%80%9Cclean-sox%E2%80%9D |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=Columbia College Today |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> He graduated from [[Columbia University]] (where he was a member of [[Beta Theta Pi]] fraternity)<ref>{{Cite book|last=Huhn|first=Rick|title=Eddie Collins: A Baseball Biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Itckm0esnX8C&dq=eddie+collins+beta+theta+pi&pg=PA16|via=Google.com/books|date=15 July 2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786485710 }}</ref> at a time when few major league players had attended college.<ref name="Eddie Collins at the Baseball Hall of Fame"/>

Collins started his professional baseball career on September 17, 1906, when he signed with the [[Philadelphia Athletics]]' organization at the age of 19.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/collied01.shtml Eddie Collins Statistics and History] ''Baseball-Reference.com''</ref> At the time of his signing, Collins was still a student at Columbia, and he played some of his early minor league games under the last name of Sullivan so that he could protect his collegiate status. Collins had lost his collegiate eligibility when it was discovered he played with [[Plattsburgh (baseball)|Plattsburgh]] and Rutland in the 1906 Northern Independent League. He then signed with the Athletics and made his debut.<ref name=Eagle>{{cite news|title=Eddie Collins' rise in great baseball career|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19330226&id=-WUhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zYcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,4015885|access-date=December 13, 2014|work=[[Reading Eagle]]|date=February 26, 1933}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=collin003edw|title=Eddie Collins Minor & Cuban Leagues Statistics & History|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/eddie-collins/|title = Eddie Collins – Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref>

==Professional career==
===Philadelphia Athletics (1906–1914)===
[[File:Eddie Collins in 1911.jpg|thumb|right|Collins in 1911]]
After spending all but 14 games of the 1907 season in the minor leagues,<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=collin003edw Eddie Collins Minor League Statistics & History] ''Baseball-Reference.com''</ref> Collins played in 102 games in 1908 and by 1909 was a full-time player. That season, he registered a .347 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] and 67 [[stolen base|steals]]. Collins was also named the A's starting second baseman in 1909, a position he played for the rest of his career, after seeing time at second, third, shortstop, and the outfield the previous two seasons. In 1910, Collins stole a career-high 81 bases, the first [[American League]] player to steal at least 80 bases in a season, and played on the first of his six [[World Series]] championship teams.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=collied01|title=Eddie Collins Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac|website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/SB_leagues.shtml|title=Yearly League Leaders & Records for Stolen Bases|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

Collins ranks 11th in the major leagues for most hits of all time with 3,315, and seventh for most stolen bases of all time with 745.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eddie Collins Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/collied01.shtml |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=All-Time MLB Player Hitting Stats |url=https://www.mlb.com/stats/hits/all-time-totals |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=MLB.com |language=en}}</ref> He is one of five players to steal six bases in a game, and the only person to do so twice, with both occurrences happening within eleven days, on September 11 and September 22, 1912, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_stba.shtml|title=MLB Stolen Bases Records &#124; Baseball Almanac|website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}</ref> Collins was part of the Athletics' "[[$100,000 infield]]" (and the highest-paid of the quartet) which propelled the team to four [[American League]] (AL) pennants and three [[World Series]] titles between 1910 and 1914.<ref>James, B. (2001). The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. Simon & Schuster. pp. 548–550. {{ISBN|0-684-80697-5}}.</ref> He earned the league's [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|Chalmers Award]] (early Most Valuable Player recognition) in {{Baseball year|1914}}.

In 1913, the [[Federal League]] formed as a direct competitor to the American League.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calcaterra |first=Craig |date=2020-04-13 |title=Today in Baseball History: The Federal League begins play |url=https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2020/04/13/today-in-baseball-history-the-federal-league-begins-play/ |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=MLB {{!}} NBC Sports |language=en-US}}</ref> To retain Collins, Athletics manager [[Connie Mack]] offered his second baseman the longest guaranteed contract (five years) that had ever been offered to a player. Collins declined, and after the 1914 season Mack sold Collins to the White Sox for $50,000, the highest price ever paid for a player up to that point and the first of only three times that a reigning MVP was sold or traded (the others being [[Alex Rodriguez]] in 2003 and [[Giancarlo Stanton]] in 2017, both to the [[New York Yankees]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/giancarlo-stanton-first-mvp-immediately-traded-since-rod-012854010.html|title=How Giancarlo Stanton could join Alex Rodriguez in unique MVP category|website=sports.yahoo.com|date=17 November 2017 }}</ref> The Sox paid Collins $15,000 for 1915, making him the third highest paid player in the league, behind [[Ty Cobb]] and [[Tris Speaker]].

===Chicago White Sox (1915–1926)===
[[Image:e104collins.jpg|right|thumb|100px|Baseball Card]]
[[File:Eddie Collins second base 1923 Chicago White Sox.jpg|left|thumb|100px|1923 photograph in the Chicago Tribune]]
In Chicago, Collins continued to post top-ten batting and stolen base numbers, and he helped the Sox capture pennants in 1917 and 1919. He was part of the notorious "[[Black Sox Scandal|Black Sox]]" team that threw the [[1919 World Series]] to the [[Cincinnati Reds]]. Collins was not accused of being part of the conspiracy and was considered to have played honestly, his low .226 batting average notwithstanding. Years later, Collins would say he had no pity for the eight players who were banished because he said they knew what they were doing.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

In August {{Baseball year|1924}}, Collins was named player-manager of the White Sox and held the position through the {{Baseball year|1926}} season, posting a record of 174–160 (.521). His two full seasons were the only winning seasons enjoyed by the White Sox from 1921 to 1936.

On June 3, 1925, Collins collected the 3,000th hit of his career to become the sixth player in major league history to join the [[3,000 hit club]], doing so for the White Sox off pitcher [[Rip Collins (pitcher)|Rip Collins]] of the [[Detroit Tigers]] at Navin Field on a single. Incidentally, this was also the first game in which there were two members of the 3,000 hit club playing in the same game, as [[Ty Cobb]] played center field.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/3000_hit_club/collins_eddie.htm|title = National Baseball Hall of Fame - the 3,000 Hit Club - Eddie Collins}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET192506030.shtml|title=Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers Box Score, June 3, 1925}}</ref>

===Return to the Athletics (1927–1930)===
Collins returned to Philadelphia to rejoin the Athletics in {{Baseball year|1927}} as a player-coach. For all intents and purposes, 1927 was his last year as a full-time player; he only played in 48 games in the following three years, mostly as a pinch hitter. The A's won the World Series in 1929 and 1930, but Collins didn't play in either. His last appearance as a player was on August 2, 1930.

Collins finished his career with 1,300 [[runs batted in]]. To date, Collins is the only major league player to play for two teams for at least 12 seasons each. Upon his retirement, he ranked second in major league history in career games (2,826), [[base on balls|walks]] (1,499) and [[stolen base]]s (744), third in [[run (baseball)|runs scored]] (1,821), fourth in [[hit (baseball)|hits]] (3,315) and [[at bat]]s (9,949), sixth in [[on-base percentage]] (.424), and eighth in [[total bases]] (4,268); he was also fourth in AL history in [[triple (baseball)|triples]] (187).

He still holds the major league record of 512 career [[sacrifice bunt]]s, over 100 more than any other player. He was the first major leaguer in modern history to steal 80 bases in a season, and still shares the major league record of six steals in a game, which he accomplished twice in September 1912. He regularly [[batting average (baseball)|batted]] over .320, retiring with a career average of .333. He also holds major league records for career games (2,650), assists (7,630) and total chances (14,591) at second base, and ranks second in [[putout]]s (6,526). Collins is one of only 31 players in baseball history to have appeared in major league games in four decades.

==Front-office career==
Following the A's [[1930 World Series]] victory, Collins retired as a player and immediately stepped into a full-time position as a [[coach (baseball)|coach]] with the A's.

After two seasons as a coach, Collins was hired as vice president and [[General manager (baseball)|general manager]] of the [[Boston Red Sox]].<ref name=":0" /> The new owner, [[Tom Yawkey]], was a close friend who had attended the same prep school as Collins. Yawkey actually bought the Red Sox at Collins' suggestion. Collins assumed management of a team that had bottomed out from a long decline dating from their sale of [[Babe Ruth]]; the 1932 Red Sox finished 43–111, the worst record in franchise history and second last-place finish in three seasons.

In 1933, under Collins’ leadership, the Red Sox became the first team to field a Mexican-born player in the major leagues, [[Mel Almada]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=September 8, 1933: Mel Almada becomes the first Mexican native to play in a major-league baseball game – Society for American Baseball Research |url=https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/september-8-1933-mel-almada-becomes-the-first-mexican-native-to-play-in-a-major-league-baseball-game/ |access-date=2023-04-21 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mexican baseball a source of pride south of the border |url=https://baseballhall.org/discover/mexican-baseball-source-of-pride-south-of-the-border |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=baseballhall.org}}</ref>

Collins remained general manager through the 1947 season, retiring at age 60 after a period of declining health, thus ending 41 years in baseball.<ref>{{cite news|title=Different Story Now|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/819641599|access-date=December 15, 2014|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=September 29, 1947|id={{ProQuest|819641599}} }}</ref> During his 15 years as general manager, Collins signed future Hall of Famers such as [[Joe Cronin]], [[Ted Williams]] and [[Bobby Doerr]].<ref name=":0" />

Collins managed winning seasons in seven of his final twelve years as general manager. Under Collins' leadership, the Red Sox won the 1946 pennant, their first in 28 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston Red Sox History |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/rsox.shtml |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}</ref> After his death in 1951, the Red Sox hung a plaque outside Fenway Park in honor of Collins. In May 2018, the Red Sox removed the plaque, reportedly due to the team not integrating Black players before the end of his tenure in 1947.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://commonwealthmagazine.org/arts-and-culture/a-missing-pair-of-sox/ |title=A missing pair of Sox |first=Jack |last=Sullivan |magazine=[[CommonWealth Magazine|CommonWealth]] |date=May 21, 2018 |access-date=May 24, 2018}}</ref> Of the 16 major league teams at the time, the Dodgers, Browns, and Indians were the only three that were integrated by the 1947 season.<ref>{{Cite web |title=These players integrated each MLB team |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/players-who-broke-color-barrier-for-every-team |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=MLB.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=Baseball Demographics, 1947-2012 |website=Society for American Baseball Research |url=https://sabr.org/research/article/baseball-demographics-1947-2012/ |access-date=2023-04-21 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Collins was inducted into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]] in [[1939 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1939]].

Collins struggled with major heart problems for several years at the end of his life. He was admitted to a hospital in Boston on March 10, 1951, and died there due to a heart condition on March 25 at age 63.<ref name=EDR>{{cite news|title=Eddie Collins, baseball immortal, succumbs from heart condition|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=860&dat=19510326&id=fUkKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9UoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4717,1383888|access-date=December 13, 2014|work=[[Ellensburg Daily Record]]|date=March 26, 1951}}</ref>

===Managerial record===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular season !! colspan="4"|Postseason
|-
!Games!!Won!!Lost!!Win %!!Finish!! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Result
|-
|-
![[1924 Chicago White Sox season|CWS]]|| {{mlby|1924}}
||27||{{WinLossPct|14|13}}|| interim || – || – || – || –
|-
!colspan="11"|
|-
![[1925 Chicago White Sox season|CWS]]|| {{mlby|1925}}
||154||{{WinLossPct|79|75}}|| 5th in AL || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1926 Chicago White Sox season|CWS]]|| {{mlby|1926}}
||153||{{WinLossPct|81|72}}|| 5th in AL || – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|Total ||344||{{WinLossPct|174|160}}|| || {{WinLossPct|0|0}} || 
|}

==Legacy==
In 1999, Collins was ranked number 24 on ''[[The Sporting News]]''' list of the [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/lisn100.shtml 100 Greatest Baseball Players], and was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. He played on a total of six [[World Series]]-winning teams ([[1910 World Series|1910]], [[1911 World Series|1911]], [[1913 World Series|1913]], [[1917 World Series|1917]], [[1929 World Series|1929]], and [[1930 World Series|1930]]), though he did not participate in any of the final two series' games.

Under the [[win shares]] statistical rating system created by baseball historian and analyst [[Bill James]], Collins was the greatest second baseman of all time.

Collins' son, [[Eddie Collins, Jr.|Eddie Jr.]], was an outfielder who played for [[Yale University|Yale]].<ref name=Day>{{cite news|last1=Black|first1=Lou|title=Eddie Collins on day off, watches son play baseball|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1915&dat=19370518&id=yZw0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=YXEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3530,1557890|access-date=December 13, 2014|work=[[The Day (New London)|The Day]]|date=May 18, 1937}}</ref> He briefly saw major league action (in 1939 and 1941–42, all with the A's) and later worked in the [[Philadelphia Phillies]]' front office.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
{{div col}}
* [[List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball stolen base records]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual stolen base leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball players who played in four decades]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball player-managers]]
* [[Major League Baseball titles leaders]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat}}
*{{bbhof|collins-eddie}}
*{{baseballstats|mlb=112506|espn=20307|br=c/collied01|fangraphs=1002451|brm=collin003edw|retro=C/Pcolle101}}
*{{baseball-reference manager|collied01}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070712221219/http://www.cycleback.com/eddiecollins.html Official site]
*{{findagrave}}

{{Columbia Lions quarterback navbox}}
{{Chicago White Sox managers}}
{{Boston Red Sox general managers}}
{{AL Chalmers Award}}
{{AL stolen base champions}}
{{3000 hit club}}
{{1910 Philadelphia Athletics}}
{{1911 Philadelphia Athletics}}
{{1913 Philadelphia Athletics}}
{{1917 Chicago White Sox}}
{{1929 Philadelphia Athletics}}
{{1930 Philadelphia Athletics}}
{{Oakland Athletics HOF}}
{{Chicago White Sox HOF}}
{{1939 Baseball HOF}}
{{Baseball Hall of Fame members}}
{{Philly Baseball Wall of Fame}}
{{Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame}}
{{Oakland Athletics Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Eddie}}
[[Category:1887 births]]
[[Category:1951 deaths]]
[[Category:American League stolen base champions]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Dutchess County, New York]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox executives]]
[[Category:Chicago White Sox players]]
[[Category:Chicago White Sox managers]]
[[Category:Columbia Lions baseball players]]
[[Category:Columbia College, Columbia University alumni]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball general managers]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball player-managers]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball second basemen]]
[[Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Newark Sailors players]]
[[Category:People from Millerton, New York]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Athletics coaches]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Athletics players]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Plattsburgh (baseball) players]]