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Monkey Foreman

Pitcher
  • Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
  • City: Toledo
  • Team: White Stockings
  • League: Western League

Francis Isaiah Foreman (1863-1957) played hardball for 28 pro franchises over a career that began with the Lancaster, PA Ironsides in 1884 and ended with the Meriden, CT Silverites in 1905. Such longevity suggests the big guy (over six feet) knew how to pitch and how to protect his arm in an era when so many burned out quickly. Fifty-four of his 96 career wins in the majors came in a three year streak with Baltimore, Cincinnati and Washington from 1889-91. Foreman could hit, too, at least when the fences came in. On July 4, 1895 Frank pitched the nightcap for his Reds in Chicago. The local officials wanted to accommodate the expected crowd and moved the fences in a hundred feet. Umps ruled balls in seats would be HRs. Frank hit two, but surrendered six, losing 9-5.

  • Frank’s brother Brownie joined him with the Reds in ‘96 putting the Foremans on a list of nearly 100 brother-teammates in big league history
  • Frank coached at Gettysburg College in the off-season and showed his eye for talent when he urged his friend Connie Mack to sign a kid named Eddie Plank in 1901

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