Lave Cross
Lave Cross was one of the most popular players in Philadelphia in the 1880s, 1890s and early 1900s, playing for five teams in that city in four different leagues. He was a valuable utility player for the Phillies in the 1890s before earning a starting job with St. Louis in 1898. After bouncing from one terrible team to another for three seasons, he arrived on Connie Mack's A's in 1901. As a starting third baseman for the next six seasons, Cross performed extremely well, especially considering they were his age 35-40 years. He played in 447 consecutive games for the A's, and helped Mack's teams to a pair of pennants.
Played For
Louisville, American Association (1887-1888)
Philadelphia Athletics, American Association (1889-1891)
Philadelphia Phillies (1892-1897)
St. Louis Cardinals (1898)
Cleveland Spiders (1899)
St. Louis Cardinals (1899-1900)
Brooklyn Dodgers (1900)
Philadelphia Athletics (1901-1905)
Washington Senators (1906-1907)
Managed
Cleveland Spiders (1899)
All-Time Rankings
Lave Cross ranks #38 among the Top 50 all-time at 3B. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1901
Granted, Cross was an established major leaguer and the AL, in its first few seasons, was still populated with some questionable talent. But Cross excelled, hitting .328 with 28 doubles and 12 triples in 100 games in '01. The next season he hit .342 with 108 RBI.
Factoids
Playing second base for the Phillies on August 5, 1897, Lave Cross recorded 15 assists, a major league record that still stands. The game went 12 innings.
Lave Cross's 108 RBI in 1902 are the most ever by a player who did not hit a home run.
As a Manager
The 1899 Spiders were 8-30 under Cross, before Joe Quinn took over the team, which posted a 20-134 record, and lost 40 of their last 41 games.
Born
Lafayette Napoleon Cross was born on May 12, 1866, in Milwaukee, WI.
Died
September 6, 1927, Toledo, OH
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Primary Position: 3B
Primary Team: PHI
Major League Debut
April 23, 1887
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1887
Coming soon...
Family Tree
His brothers, Amos and Frank Cross played briefly in the big leagues. Monte Cross, who played at roughly the same time as Lave, was no relation.
| Hall of Fame Voting |
| Year |
Election |
Votes |
Pct |
| 1939 |
BBWAA |
1 |
.4% |
1942 |
BBWAA |
1 |
.4% |
|
Post-Season Appearances
1905 World Series
Feats
Lave Cross's 447 consecutive games played from April 23, 1902, through May 8, 1905, was most likely a record at the time. Games played records are sketchy going back before 1900.
Batting Feats
Learn More about Lave Cross
Search Amazon.com for Books about Lave Cross ⇒
Search for Lave Cross at Google ⇒
View a map of his hometown at Mapquest ⇒
