Ed Konetchy

A few historical facts

Ed Konetchy

Bill James tweeted about Ed Konetchy the other day:

I thought I’d take a look.

Konetchy came from La Crosse, Wisconsin. You can find references to him in local newspapers as early as April 1905:

From The La Crosse Tribune, April 29, 1905, page 5

He was originally listed as a left fielder, but it seems that he actually started the season at first base. I’m guessing that Spicer left the club.

From The La Crosse Tribune, May 5, 1905, page 8

By 1907, he had attracted the attention of major league scouts:

From The La Crosse Tribune, May 18, 1907, page 2

He was purchased by the St. Louis Cardinals about a month later:

From The La Crosse Tribune, June 27, 1907, page 2

Interestingly enough, that was right after the local fans in La Crosse had honored him for his service for the team:

From The La Crosse Tribune, June 27, 1907, page 1

Konetchy started for St. Louis right away:

From The St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 30, 1907, page 15

Unfortunately for Ed, the St. Louis Cardinals were simply awful. In fact, the 1908 Cardinals were one of the worst offensive teams of all time, managing only 372 runs all year — the lowest full season total of all time.

By winter 1913, Konetchy’s time in St. Louis was running to a close. The Cardinals were awful during his time there, and he wanted to go somewhere else.

The initial rumors had it that he was headed for the New York Giants, who had just won the 1913 pennant:

From The St. Louis Globe-Democrat, October 22, 1913, page 11

From The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 31, 1913, page 19

From St. Louis Star and Times, December 10, 1913, page 9

However, Konetchy wound up going to Pittsburgh in the end:

From The St. Louis Globe-Democrat, December 13, 1913, page 13

This is where things become very interesting.

The very next day, Konetchy received an offer from the Federal League’s Pittsburgh Rebels:

From St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 14, 1913, page 39

The Rebels were managed by Rebel Oakes, who had played with Konetchy in St. Louis as recently as 1912.

Ed decided to stay with the Pirates for one season, but felt offended when he was unsuccessful in negotiating a higher salary. And so he jumped.

From The Pittsburgh Press, October 19, 1914, page 17

From The Pittsburgh Press, November 12, 1914, page 24

From The Pittsburgh Post, December 31, 1914, page 9

The Rebels were the best team Konetchy had played for to date. Pittsburgh wound up finishing 3rd in the final Federal League season.

But, unfortunately for Konetchy, there were bills to pay. And so he was sold off:

From The Pittsburgh Press, February 10, 1916, page 28

Konetchy lasted 3 years in Boston before being abruptly traded to the Brooklyn Robins:

From The Boston Globe, April 22, 1919, page 9

Note that, once again, the reason was a salary dispute that resulted in Konetchy holding out through spring training.

Konetchy played fairly well in 1919, but then played extremely well in 1920. His hitting led the Robins to the pennant — though he then disappeared during the World Series.

Midway through the 1921 season, Konetchy found himself traded once again:

From The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 7, 1921, page 23

And that’s where Konetchy’s major league career ended.

He played very well in half a season for the Phillies, but was discarded for a younger player:

From The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 23, 1922, page 12

And there you have it — a quick outline of the history of Ed Konetchy.