1894 by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview
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Page 69
ambassador. To the younger Sox faithful, Duffy seemed to have been a club functionary forever. So when his obituary was published in October 1954, many were surprised to learn that Hugh Duffy had once been baseball’s premier batsman. Some 60
years before his death, the little gent had set a single season, major league batting record by posting a .440 batting average.
Although extraordinary, the mark was far from a fluke. During a 17 season playing career, Duffy had been an outstanding hitter, attaining yet another unique batting distinction. To this day, he is the only player in history to compile a .300+ career batting average in four different major league circuits; National League - .326, Players League - .320, American Association - .336, and American League - .302. On top of that, he had also been a standout defensive outfielder, an accomplished base stealer, and an innovative baseball strategist. It was no wonder, then, that the likeness of Hugh Duffy came to be inscribed on a plaque at Cooperstown.
Like a host of other late nineteenth century ballplayers, Hugh Duffy was the son of Irish Catholic immigrants. But his biography is shrouded by the non-existence of an official birth record, and by Duffy’s lifelong evasiveness about his age. As best as can be ascertained, Duffy was born on November 26, 1866, the oldest child of laborer Michael Duffy (c.1842-1902) and his