Art Fletcher
| Art Fletcher | |
|---|---|
 Fletcher in 1920 | |
| Shortstop / Manager | |
| Born: January 5, 1885 Collinsville, Illinois, U.S. | |
| Died: February 6, 1950 (aged 65) Los Angeles California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 15, 1909, for the New York Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 16, 1922, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .277 |
| Home runs | 32 |
| Runs batted in | 676 |
| Managerial record | 237–383 |
| Winning % | .382 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| As player
As manager As coach | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Arthur Fletcher (January 5, 1885 – February 6, 1950) was an American shortstop, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. Fletcher was associated with two New York City baseball dynasties: the Giants of John McGraw as a player; and the Yankees of Miller Huggins and Joe McCarthy as a coach.
Career
Born in Collinsville, Illinois, he batted and threw right-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 170 pounds (77 kg).
Fletcher came to the Giants in 1909 after only one season of minor league experience, and became the club's regular shortstop two years later. He played in four World Series while performing for McGraw (1911, 1912, 1913 and 1917). Traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in the midst of the 1920 season, he retired after the 1922 campaign with 1,534 hits, 32 home runs, 676 RBI and a .277 batting average. Fletcher is the Giants' career leader in being hit by pitches (132) and ranks 29th on the MLB career list (141) for the same statistic.[1]
In 1923 he replaced Kaiser Wilhelm as manager of the seventh-place Phillies and led the club through four losing seasons, bookended by last-place finishes in 1923 and 1926. In October 1926, he was replaced by Stuffy McInnis.
Fletcher then began a 19-year tenure (1927–1945) as a coach for the Yankees, where, beginning with the legendary 1927 team, he would participate on ten American League pennant winners and nine World Series champions. On a tragic note, he served as the acting manager of Yankees for the last 11 games of the 1929 season when Huggins, 50, was fatally stricken with erysipelas and pyaemia. Fletcher won six of those 11 games, to compile a career major league managing record of 237–383 (.382).
Managerial record
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| PHI | 1923 | 154 | 50 | 104 | .325 | 8th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PHI | 1924 | 151 | 55 | 96 | .364 | 7th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PHI | 1925 | 153 | 68 | 85 | .444 | 6th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PHI | 1926 | 151 | 58 | 93 | .384 | 8th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PHI total | 609 | 231 | 378 | .379 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| NYY | 1929 | 11 | 6 | 5 | .545 | 2nd in AL | – | – | – | – |
| NYY total | 11 | 6 | 5 | .545 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| Total | 620 | 237 | 383 | .382 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
Career after baseball
Fletcher, who had been serving as a part-time manager in 1945 with Joe McCarthy ill, suffered a heart attack on September 10 during a game against the Cleveland Indians while standing in the third base coach box. He suffered a second heart attack and he was rushed to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington Heights, Manhattan, where he was placed in serious condition.[2][3] Dr. Robert Walsh, who was serving as the team's physician told Fletcher that the heart attack was not a serious one but that he would have to stop coaching for the 1945 season to recover from it. At that time period, Fletcher had been considered a candidate to manage the team in the 1946 season if McCarthy chose to retire.[4]
Fletcher suffered a third heart attack and was considered out of danger by September 18. However, he told the Yankees that he intended to retire after the 1945 season due to losing his interest for the travel and preparation for each season. He planned on moving to California and purchasing home in retirement. With a large inheritance from his father, a banker from Collinsville, he felt that he could move on.[5] Fletcher would also end up suffering from pneumonia at the hospital, but by the beginning of October 1945, he was able to have visitors, with McCarthy the first to visit.[6] On October 12, 1945, McCarthy announced that Bill Dickey would replace Fletcher as the second-level coach on the Yankees.[7] Fletcher was released from the hospital on October 30 to his home in New York a week before he would leave for his home in Collinsville.[8]
Fletcher died of another heart attack on February 6, 1950 while sitting in a car in Los Angeles, California with his wife, Irene on vacation from Collinsville.[9] His funeral was held at Presbyterian Church in Collinsville on February 12. Fletcher would be buried in Glenwood Cemetery.[10] McCarthy visited for the funeral, staying in St. Louis, Missouri before attending the service. It was while in the area he learned about the death of former teammate Kiki Cuyler.[11]
See also
References
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Hit by Pitch".
- ^ "Fletcher's Condition Considered Serious". The Telegraph-Journal. St. John, New Brunswick. September 14, 2025. p. 8. Retrieved December 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fletcher's Condition is Still Serious". The Newark Star-Ledger. September 16, 1945. p. 20. Retrieved December 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Art Fletcher Suffers Heart Attack, Medics Tell Him to Rest". The Dunkirk Evening Observer. United Press International. September 13, 1945. p. 16. Retrieved December 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lanigan, Hal W. (September 18, 1945). "Art Fletcher Planned This as His Last Season". |Belleville Daily News-Democrat. p. 6. Retrieved December 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Kelly, Billy (October 1, 1945). "Before and After". The Buffalo Courier-Express. p. 16. Retrieved December 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fletcher's Post to Go to Dickey". The Bayonne Times. October 13, 1945. p. 7. Retrieved December 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Art Fletcher, Yank Coach, Quits Hospital". The Troy Record. Associated Press. October 31, 1945. p. 17. Retrieved December 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Art Fletcher, 63, N.Y. Yankee Coach Dies at Los Angeles". The Buffalo News. Associated Press. February 7, 1950. p. 24. Retrieved December 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Services for Fletcher". The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. February 13, 1950. p. 15. Retrieved December 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "McCarthy, Here for Fletcher Funeral, Shocked by News". The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. February 12, 1950. p. 1. Retrieved December 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
- Career statistics from Baseball Reference · Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet · Baseball Almanac
- Art Fletcher at Find a Grave