A native of Millerton, New York, Collins was known for his steady bat and speed. He broke into the Majors in 1906 with the Philadelphia Athletics and work his way to full time play by 1909. That season, he had a .347 batting average and 67 steals. The following year, Collins stole a career-high 81 bases and won his first of four World Series championships.

Collins moved to the Chicago White Sox in 1915, where he continued to post top-ten batting and stolen base numbers. He played on the notorious "Black Sox" team that threw the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds, but was not in on the fix and played honestly. He was the playing manager of the White Sox from August 1924 through the 1926 season, posting a record of 174-160 (.521). He then returned to the Athletics in 1927 and retired after the 1930 season. In 1931-32, he served as a Philadelphia coach and, from 1933 through 1947, as the general manager for the Boston Red Sox. With the BoSox Collins helped rebuild the team, and was instrumental in the signings of Bobby Doerr and Ted Williams.

Collins finished his career with 3,315 hits, 744 steals, 1,300 RBI and a .333 batting average. He won the MVP Award in 1914. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.

In 1999, he ranked number 24 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Accomplishments

• Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (1939)
• 7th all time for career stolen bases (744)
• Led the Major Leagues for stolen bases (1910)
• Led the Major Leagues in runs scored (1912-14)
• American League MVP (1914)
• Led the American League for times on base (1914)
• Led the American Leagues for stolen bases (1919, 1923-24)

Regular season stats

See also

• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame

External links

• Baseball Hall of Fame
• Official site
• Candid Photographs from Collins' Personal Album
• Find-A-Grave profile for Eddie Collins

Baseball Hall of Fame | Major league second basemen | Chicago White Sox players | Philadelphia Athletics players | Chicago White Sox managers | Baseball executives | Major League Baseball general managers | 1887 births | 1951 deaths | 3000 hit club | Irish-Americans | Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame | Major league players from New York

Eddie Collins