Thomas Francis Tennant (July 3, 1882 – February 15, 1955) was a professional baseball player. In an 11-season minor league career, he had 1,825 hits and a .274 batting average.[1] He also played two games in Major League Baseball in 1912. Tennant was 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighed 165 pounds.[2]
| Tom Tennant | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pinch hitter | |
| Born: July 3, 1882 Monroe, Wisconsin, US | |
| Died: February 15, 1955 (aged 72) San Carlos, California, US | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 18, 1912, for the St. Louis Browns | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 21, 1912, for the St. Louis Browns | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Games played | 2 |
| At bats | 2 |
| Hits | 0 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
Career
editTennant was born in Monroe, Wisconsin, in 1882. At some point, his family moved to Elgin, Illinois.[3] Playing mostly as a first baseman, he started his professional baseball career in 1906 with the Wisconsin State League's Green Bay Colts.[1] That season, he batted .313 and led the league with 141 hits.[4] Tennant then moved on to the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League, where he played for the Decatur Commodores for two seasons. He batted just .261 in 1907 but raised his average to .310 in 1908 and once again topped the circuit in hits, with 164.[1][5]
Tennant spent 1909 through 1911 with the San Francisco Seals of the class A Pacific Coast League.[1] In 1910, he had 231 hits in 223 games to lead his league in hits for the third time.[6] Then in April 1912, Tennant broke into the major leagues with the St. Louis Browns. He appeared in two games for them that month as a pinch hitter and went 0 for 2 at the plate with 1 run scored.[2] The Browns had used eight first basemen in 1911 but traded for veteran standout George Stovall from the Cleveland Indians in the off-season. A St. Louis newspaper commented that Tennant "had the goods, but he came just one year late to land the regular job".[3] The rest of the 1912 season, he played for the Western League's Sioux City Packers.[1]
In 1913, Tennant returned to the Pacific Coast League, displacing Hughie Miller as the starting first baseman for the Sacramento Solons.[7] He batted .299 with a league-leading 47 doubles in his first year back, but his statistics declined after that.[1][8] He retired from professional baseball after the 1916 season.[1]
Tennant died in San Carlos, California, in 1955 and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Tom Tennant Minor League Statistics & History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Tom Tennant Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
- ^ a b "100 years ago: Elgin residents' reactions to sinking of Titanic". April 20, 2012.
- ^ "1906 Wisconsin State League Batting Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
- ^ "1908 Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League Batting Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
- ^ "1910 Pacific Coast League Batting Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
- ^ "16 Apr 1913, Page 2 - Santa Cruz Evening News at". Newspapers.com. April 16, 1913. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
- ^ "1913 Pacific Coast League Batting Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
External links
edit- Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)