Эдд Рауш: Легенда американского бейсбола

American baseball player (1893 1988)

Edd J. Roush (May 8, 1893 – March 21, 1988) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1913 to 1931, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds where he was a two time National League (NL) batting champion and led the team to the 1919 World Series championship. He also played for the New York Giants, Chicago White Sox as well as the Newark Peppers and the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the Federal League. Roush accumulated a .323 batting average over his 18 year playing career and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

Roush's career with the Giants started with a contract dispute. The Giants offered $19,000 (19000.0 in 1927 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years), and Roush rejected the offer, demanding $30,000 (30000.0 in 1927 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years). Roush met with John McGraw, the Giants manager, in a hotel room in Chattanooga, Tennessee to work out the details of the contract. In 1927 Roush had a down year for the third place Giants, and batted only .304, the lowest average since 1916. and only appeared in 46 games. After receiving surgery on the torn muscles in February, he returned to form and hit .324 over 115 games for the Giants. In early 1930 Roush threatened to retire than to receive a pay cut. After the two sides could not agree on a number Roush held out for the whole season. As the next season began, Roush refused to play for the Giants and retired from baseball. He was contacted by Reds President Sidney Weil to play for the team in 1931. After a short negotiation, both sides agreed to a one year contract worth $15,000 (15000.0 in 1931 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years). Roush struggled in his last season in baseball, only managing to hit .271 in 101 games. Roush finished his 18 year career with a .323 lifetime average, 268 stolen bases and 182 triples. He never struck out more than 25 times in a season and had 30 inside the park home runs. the heaviest bat used in baseball. At the time of his retirement in 1931, he was second place behind Bid McPhee for hits and triples in Cincinnati Reds history. Hall of Fame pitcher Pete Alexander wrote of Roush, "Of all the batters I have faced Edd Roush and Ross Youngs are the trickiest. I won't say they are the hardest hitters but they are the trickiest, smartest."

Roush served one season as the Reds coach alongside his good friend, manager Bill McKechnie, who had previously been his teammate. During his career he had saved his money and was able to retire after he finished playing. He built a house in Bradenton, Florida, and used it as a winter residence. He frequently attended spring training and told stories of the old days. Roush spent most of his time in his hometown of Oakland City, where he served on the town and school boards and ran the Montgomery cemetery for 35 years. In addition to Roush's selection into the Baseball Hall of Fame, chosen with McKechnie, he is also a member of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, inducted in 1960. Considered the greatest player in Reds' history at the time, Roush was invited to throw out the first ball at the last game at Crosley Field on June 24, 1970. Joe Morgan called Roush "the best of us all". In 1981, Ritter and Donald Honig included Roush in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time. Roush died at the age of 94 on March 21, 1988, in Bradenton, Florida. At the time of his death he was the last surviving Federal League participant and the last surviving 1919 World Series participant.