View source for Jake Daubert

{{Short description|American baseball player (1884–1924)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Jake Daubert
|image=Jake Daubert.jpg
|position=[[First baseman]]
|birth_date={{Birth date|1884|4|7}}
|birth_place=[[Shamokin, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1924|10|9|1884|4|7}}
|death_place=[[Cincinnati|Cincinnati, Ohio]], U.S.
|bats=Left
|throws=Left
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=April 14
|debutyear=1910
|debutteam=Brooklyn Superbas
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 20
|finalyear=1924
|finalteam=Cincinnati Reds
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.303
|stat3label=[[Home run]]s
|stat3value=56
|stat4label=[[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
|stat4value=722
|stat2label=[[Hit (baseball)|Hits]]
|stat2value=2,326
|teams=
* [[Brooklyn Dodgers|Brooklyn Superbas / Dodgers / Robins]] ({{mlby|1910}}–{{mlby|1918}})
* [[Cincinnati Reds]] ({{mlby|1919}}–{{mlby|1924}})
|highlights=
* [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1919}})
* [[NL MVP]] (1913)
* 2× [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions|NL batting champion]] (1913, 1914)
* [[Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame]]
}}
'''Jacob Ellsworth Daubert''' (April 7, 1884 – October 9, 1924) was an American [[first baseman]] in [[Major League Baseball]] who played for the [[Brooklyn Superbas]]{{Efn|The team also went by the nicknames Dodgers and Robins during Daubert's time with Brooklyn.}} and [[Cincinnati Reds]]. His career lasted from 1910 until his death in 1924.

Daubert was recognized throughout his career for his performance on the field. He won the 1913 and 1914 National League [[batting average (baseball)|batting titles]] and the 1913 [[MLB Most Valuable Player Award|Chalmers Award]] as the National League's Most Valuable Player. Between 1911 and 1919, ''The Baseball Magazine'' named him to their All-American team seven times.<ref>{{Cite web |title=All America Teams 1908-1919 |url=https://theworld.com/~pgw/Deadball/all.america.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060128122643/http://world.std.com/~pgw/Deadball/all.america.html |archive-date=2006-01-28 |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=Deadball Era Resources}}</ref> Baseball historian William C. Kashatus observed that Daubert was "a steady .300 hitter for 10 years of the [[Deadball Era]]" who "never fielded below the .989 mark."<ref>{{Harvnb|Kashatus|2002|pp=94–95}}</ref>

==Early life==
Daubert was born in [[Shamokin, Pennsylvania]] to Jacob and Sarah Daubert. The lack of [[Child labor laws in the United States|child labor laws]] enabled Daubert to go to work early in his life. In 1895, at the age of eleven, the young Daubert joined his father and two brothers at work in the local [[coal mine]]s.<ref name="thedeadballera">{{cite web |title=Jake Daubert |work=TheDeadballEra.com |first=Jim |last=Sandoval |url=http://www.thedeadballera.com/NiceGuys_Daubert_Jake.htm |access-date=November 9, 2006}}</ref>

In 1906, Daubert left his job at the mines and signed a contract with a baseball team in [[Lykens, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="thebaseballpage">{{cite web|title=Jake Daubert |work=TheBaseballPage.com |url=http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/daubeja01.php |archive-url=https://archive.today/20060507084734/http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/daubeja01.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 7, 2006 |access-date=April 7, 2007 }}</ref> He was originally a [[pitcher]] on the team before he converted to first base.<ref name="thedeadballera"/> At the end of the 1906 season, Daubert left Pennsylvania and traveled west to Ohio. There, he spent the 1907 season on teams in [[Kane, Pennsylvania]] and [[Marion, Ohio]].<ref name="thebaseballpage"/>

==Baseball career==
[[Image:Jake Daubert Baseball Card.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Daubert on a 1911 [[American Tobacco Company]] [[baseball card]]]]
In 1908, Daubert was signed by the [[Cleveland Indians]]. However, Daubert never played for Cleveland as they released him shortly thereafter. He left Cleveland and signed with the [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] club of the [[Southern Association]]. He spent the remainder of the season with Nashville.<ref name="thedeadballera"/>

Daubert returned to Ohio for the start of the 1909 season. After playing the first part of the season with [[Toledo, Ohio|Toledo]] of the [[American Association (20th century)|American Association]], Daubert went back to Tennessee and joined the [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] club. Like Nashville, Memphis's team played in the Southern Association. While playing for Memphis, Larry Sutton, a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers, observed his play. Shortly thereafter, the Dodgers purchased Daubert's contract and brought him to Brooklyn for the 1910 season.<ref name="thedeadballera"/>

While Daubert hit just .264 in 1910, he hit over .300 in each of the next six seasons. On May 6, 1910, Daubert recorded 21 [[putout]]s in a single game, one short of the major league record.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Debs |first=Vic |date=Summer 2001 |title=Gentleman Jake Belongs in the Hall |url=http://nyc.sabr.org/newsletters/Summer%202001.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061106035956/http://nyc.sabr.org/newsletters/Summer%202001.pdf |archive-date=2006-11-06 |magazine=Casey Stengal Chapter |publisher=NYC SABR |page=3 |volume=2 |issue=1}}</ref>

In 1911 and 1912, Daubert placed ninth and eighth in the Chalmers Award voting.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/daubeja01.shtml "Jake Daubert Statistics and History"]. ''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved February 13, 2011.</ref>{{Efn|The Chalmers Award was Major League Baseball's first iteration of the Most Valuable Player Award.}} The following year, he won the award. On August 15, 1914, Daubert tied [[Cy Seymour]]'s MLB record with four [[sacrifice bunt]]s in one game.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bostrom |first=Don |date=1999-07-30 |title=Sun King Ogea is more than OK |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-call-sun-king-ogea-is-more-t/163525120/ |access-date=2025-01-20 |work=The Morning Call |page=C1 |publication-place=Allentown, Pennsylvania |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> In 1916 he batted .316 and Brooklyn won their first NL pennant. His season ended in disappointment, however, after he hit only .176 in the [[1916 World Series]] and Brooklyn lost the series to the [[Boston Red Sox]].

Daubert hit .261 in 1917, but the following year he hit .308 and led the NL in [[Triple (baseball)|triples]]. When the season was cut short due to World War I and the [[Spanish flu|Spanish flu epidemic]], major league owners prorated player salaries. Daubert, who had been among the founding members of the [[Major League Baseball Players Association|Players' Fraternity]], sued for the balance of his salary. Eventually, Jake recovered most of the $2,150 he was due.<ref name="thedeadballera"/> After the dispute started, Brooklyn owner [[Charles Ebbets (baseball)|Charles Ebbets]] traded him to Cincinnati for outfielder [[Tommy Griffith]]. Once in Cincinnati, Daubert served as the Reds' [[Captain (sports)|captain]] for the remainder of his career.<ref name="thebaseballpage"/>

In 1919, although he hit only .276, Daubert was second in the league in [[Run (baseball)|runs scored]] and third in triples. The Reds won their first pennant since the inaugural season of the [[American Association (19th century)|American Association]] in 1882. In the [[1919 World Series]], noted for the [[Black Sox Scandal]], he batted .241. In the 9-1 Game One victory, he had three hits, including a triple, and he had two [[Hit (baseball)|hits]] and scored twice in the final 10-5 victory in the decisive Game Eight.

Daubert hit over .300 in the next three seasons. In 1922, Daubert hit for a .336 average, led the NL in triples and had a career-high 12 [[home run]]s. By 1923, at age 39, he was the oldest regular position player in the major leagues,<ref name="br-NL-1923">{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL_1923.shtml |title=1923 National League Statistics and Awards |access-date=April 18, 2007 |work=Baseball-Reference.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429002528/http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL_1923.shtml |archive-date=April 29, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> and he hit .292 that season.

Daubert also excelled in sacrifice hits. His career total of 392 sacrifice hits is second in MLB history, behind Hall of Famer [[Eddie Collins]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Career Leaders & Records for Sacrifice Hits |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/SH_career.shtml |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>

In his career, he had 56 home runs, 1,117 runs, 722 [[Run batted in|runs batted in]], 250 [[Double (baseball)|doubles]], 165 [[triple (baseball)|triples]] and 251 [[stolen base]]s. He recorded a .991 [[fielding percentage]] playing every inning of his MLB career at first base. When he left Brooklyn for Cincinnati, Daubert held the Brooklyn franchise record for games played at first base (1,206). The record was broken by [[Gil Hodges]] in 1956.

==Baseball unionization efforts==
Daubert was a trailblazer in baseball's unionization movement, a controversial role that may have been a factor in his omission from the Hall of Fame.<ref name="kashatus94-95"/> In 1913, he served as vice president of the Baseball Players' Fraternity, which petitioned the [[National Baseball Commission]] for improved labor conditions.<ref name="kashatus94-95"/> The petition included the following requests: 1) permission for players to negotiate with any team following their unconditional release, 2) a guarantee that clubs would provide players with 10 days' notice before releasing them unconditionally, 3) a guarantee that clubs would inform players of the terms of their contract when they are sent to another team, 4) a guarantee that a veteran players would not be sent to the minor leagues when his services are of interest to another major league club, 5) a guarantee that clubs would furnish uniforms and shoes to players free of charge, 6) a guarantee that clubs would provide traveling expenses to players between their homes and spring training camps, and 7) that players should receive written notice concerning any fine or suspension levied against them.<ref name="kashatus94-95">{{Harvnb|Kashatus|2002|p=95}}</ref>

Although Daubert was unsuccessful in pressuring the commissioners to accept the terms of the fledgling baseball union's petition, he lobbied continuously for his own interests as a player, thereby earning a reputation as a "troublemaker" within the baseball establishment.<ref name="kashatus94-95"/> A salary dispute with [[Charles Ebbets (baseball)|Charles Ebbets]], owner of the Dodgers, was a major factor in Daubert's transfer to Cincinnati in 1919.<ref name="kashatus94-95"/>

==Life outside baseball and death==
While Daubert was in Brooklyn, he was nominated for city [[Alderman#In the United States|Alderman]].<ref name="thedeadballera"/> He also spent time as a businessman and invested in several business ventures. His holdings included a pool hall, a cigar business, a semi-pro baseball team, a moving-picture business and a [[coal breaker]]. His most profitable business was reportedly the coal breaker, which was located in his hometown.<ref name="thedeadballera"/>

Daubert left the Reds late in the 1924 season after falling ill during a road trip to New York.<ref name="deadballeraobit">{{cite web|title=The Obit for Jake Daubert |work=TheDeadBallEra.com |url=http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Daubert.Jake.Obit.html |access-date=November 10, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061113003614/http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Daubert.Jake.Obit.html |archive-date=November 13, 2006 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref> Against his doctor's advice, he returned to play in the team's final home game of the season.<ref name="deadballeraobit"/> On October 2, he had an [[appendectomy]] performed by Dr. Harry H. Hines, the Reds' team doctor.<ref name="deadballeraobit"/> Complications from the operation arose, and a [[blood transfusion]] did not improve his health.<ref name="deadballeraobit"/> He died in [[Cincinnati]] one week after the operation, with the doctor citing "exhaustion, resulting in indigestion, [as] the immediate cause of death".<ref name="deadballeraobit"/> It was later discovered that Daubert suffered from a hereditary blood disorder called [[Spherocytosis|hemolytic spherocytosis]], which contributed to his death.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Best |first=Jason |title=Jake Daubert |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jake-daubert/ |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=Society for American Baseball Research |language=en-US}}</ref> He was interred at the [[Charles Baber Cemetery]] in [[Pottsville, Pennsylvania]].<ref>{{cite web| title = Jake Daubert | work = Retrosheet.org | url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Pdaubj101.htm | access-date = November 10, 2006 }}</ref> Daubert was survived by his wife Gertrude, his son George, and his daughter Louisa.<ref name="thedeadballera"/> As of 2022, he remains the oldest ballplayer to die while in the majors.

During his career, Daubert compiled a .303 lifetime batting average. At the time of his death, he ranked among the major league career leaders in games (4th, 2,001), putouts (4th, 19,634), [[Assist (baseball)|assists]] (5th, 1,128), [[total chances]] (4th, 20,943) and [[double play]]s (3rd, 1,199) at first base; he was also among the NL's leaders in hits (7th, 2,326), triples (9th, 165), [[at bat]]s (9th, 7,673), [[games played]] (10th, 2,014) and [[total bases]] (10th, 3,074). Daubert currently holds the NL record for most [[sacrifice hit]]s (392). He was inducted into the [[Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame]] in 1966<ref>{{cite web| title = Reds Hall of Famers | work = Cincinnati.Reds.MLB.com | url=http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/cin/ballpark/museum/hofers.jsp#daubert | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070212045355/http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/cin/ballpark/museum/hofers.jsp#daubert | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 12, 2007 | access-date = April 17, 2007 }}</ref> and the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame in 1990.<ref>{{cite web | title = Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame Inductees | work = Ebbets-Field.com | url = http://www.ebbets-field.com/MartyAdler/HallofFame.htm | access-date = April 17, 2007 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203728/http://www.ebbets-field.com/MartyAdler/HallofFame.htm | archive-date = September 27, 2007 | df = mdy-all }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Baseball}}
* [[List of baseball players who died during their careers]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

=== Works cited ===
* {{Cite book |last=Pietrusza |first=David |title=Baseball: the biographical encyclopedia |last2=Silverman |first2=Matthew |last3=Gershman |first3=Michael |date=2000 |publisher=Total sports illustrated |isbn=978-1-892129-34-5 |location=Kingston (N.Y.)}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kashatus |first=William C. |title=Diamonds in the Coalfields: 21 Remarkable Baseball Players, Managers, and Umpires from Northeast Pennsylvania |date=2002-01-13 |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated |isbn=978-0786411764 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina}}

==External links==
{{Commons cat}}
{{Baseballstats|br=d/daubeja01|brm=dauber001jac}}
*{{Find a Grave}}

{{Cincinnati Reds team captains}}
{{1919 Cincinnati Reds}}
{{Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame}}
{{NL Chalmers Award}}
{{NL batting title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daubert, Jake}}
[[Category:1884 births]]
[[Category:1924 deaths]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball first basemen]]
[[Category:Brooklyn Robins players]]
[[Category:Brooklyn Dodgers players]]
[[Category:Brooklyn Superbas players]]
[[Category:Burials at Charles Baber Cemetery]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds players]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Northumberland County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:National League batting champions]]
[[Category:Kane Mountaineers players]]
[[Category:Marion Moguls players]]
[[Category:Nashville Vols players]]
[[Category:Memphis Turtles players]]
[[Category:Toledo Mud Hens players]]
[[Category:People from Shamokin, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]