Original article written by Mike Lynch
Chick Fraser – Society for American Baseball Research (sabr.org)
Charles Carrolton Fraser was born on August 26, 1873,
in Chicago to Alexander and Agnes (Sturrock) Fraser, both of whom were born in
Scotland[1]. Alexander Fraser
(1846-1908), had three children with him, Charles’s older brother David dying
in 1878. It’s not clear when Fraser
began playing baseball or where he got his nickname, but by the time he was 14
in 1887, he was reportedly a “star slabman” for the West End Juniors, for whom
he pitched through his teenage years[2].
Sporting Life
editor Francis Richter saw Fraser allow 27 runs in a game as a 17-year-old and
though he called the young twirler “hard-working and enterprising,” Richter had
doubts that Fraser would make good as a major leaguer[3].
He declared that the Chicago native “was not counted
anything above the scores of other boys who were twirling on the lots,” and he
“never expected to see him rise above mediocrity.”[4] He credited Fraser for having success at the
50-foot distance before for the mound back to 60 feet 6 inches in 1893, but
also lamented that the pitcher was “all speed and no head.”[5]
In 1891 Fraser’s presence on the Garden City team of
the City League caused controversy when an opponent filed a protest, claiming
that Fraser was a professional.[6]
According to Richter, Fraser did in fact play professionally in
Burlington, Iowa, but it’s not known whether that was before or after he joined
the Garden Citys.[7] Regardless, he
became a professional in 1894 when he pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers and
Minneapolis Minnies of the Western League.
His 12-18 record at the age of 20 foreshadowed most of his career.
Fraser shouldered a huge workload in 1895 when he
tossed a combined 413 innings en route to a 23-20 record with Minneapolis and a
3-3 mark with San Francisco in the California Winter League. The National League St. Louis Browns were so
impressed that they were prepared to offer third baseman Ike Samuels,
pitcher Bill Kissinger, and minor league catcher John Rappold to
Minneapolis for Fraser, but he ended up with the Louisville Colonels instead.
Fraser started the first game of the 1896 season
against Cap Anson’s Chicago Colts and lost 4-2. It was all downhill from there. The 22-year-old went 12-27 for a team that
went 39-93 and finished last in the NL, and only two pitchers lost more
games. Fraser led the league with 166
walks and 27 wild pitches, and only one pitcher hit more batters than Fraser’s
29. The Colonels improved in 1897 and
finished in 11th place with a 52-78 record, and Fraser paced the
squad with 15 wins, but also led the league again with 22 wild pitches, and
finished among the five worst in walks and hit batsmen.
Fraser began to wear out his welcome in 1898 despite
another improvement under manager Fred Clarke, who was in his first full
campaign as skipper and arguably the team’s best player. The Colonels went 70-81 and finished in ninth
place, but lost 10 of Fraser’s first 12 assignments, including an embarrassing
16-2 drubbing in Fraser’s hometown on April 29 in which his team committed
eight errors, while the hurler walked seven and hit one batter.
In early July, Clarke married Fraser’s wife’s sister,
Annette B. Gray, solidifying an already strong bond between the two men that often had Fraser spending winters at Clarke’s ranch in Akron, Kansas, where they would
hunt, fish, and lasso steer owned by Clarke’s brother[8]. But that didn’t stop Fraser from voicing his
desire to leave Louisville. Sporting
Life insisted Clarke couldn’t get the best out of Fraser and that if Fraser
were able to pitch for a different manager he’d be a ‘star of the first magnitude.”[9]
Things finally came to a head in early August when
Fraser claimed to have a sore arm not long after being removed from a game
against Brooklyn. Rumors, however, were
that the only thing that hurt was his pride and that the lame arm was a ruse[10]. Fraser finally got his wish and was sold to
the Cleveland Spiders for approximately $500.
With Cleveland he went 2-3 to finish the year at 9-20[11]/ Despite a then-career-;pw 245 innings, Fraser
managed to hit 29 more batters, good for second worst in the NL[12].
An unnamed Louisville official thought Fraser hadn’t
been pitching to win and that only his relationship with Clarke kept the club
from shipping him out sooner. Francis
Richter even went so far as to claim that Fraser was one of the two most
unpopular players in Louisville’s history[13].
Clarke explained that one reason they parted with his brother-in-law was
his disposition: “He doesn’t get sore when he loses a hard game.”[14]
Fraser was returned to Louisville at the end of the
season, prompting him to consider retirement to become a full-time electrician,
but he was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies in December and changed his
mind. Fraser enjoyed a surprisingly
successful season, going 21-12 with a 3.36 ERA, and allowed only one home run
in 270 ¾ innings.
The Phillies went 94-58 and finished third, nine games
off the pace, and Fraser was one of three 20-game winners on the staff, joining
Wiley Piatt (23 wins) and Red Donahue (21). His wildness continued – he finished second
in the league in wild pitches – but for the first time, he wasn’t among the 10
worst in walks.
Not surprisingly, with the success came plaudits;
Fraser went from being unpopular in Louisville to “clever” in
Philadelphia[15]. Perhaps not clever
enough. Before the 1900 season, Fraser
bet Clarke a suit of clothes that the Phillies would finish higher than the
Pirates, who had moved from Louisville to Pittsburgh[16]. Pittsburgh went 79-60 and finished in second
place, and Philadelphia went 75-63 and finished in third. It wasn’t Fraser’s fault, though, as he
anchored the staff with a team-best 3.14 ERA and tied for the team lead in wins
with 15.
The 1901 season proved controversial and Fraser found
himself right in the middle of it when he jumped to the Philadelphia Athletics
of the newly formed American League for $2,500[17]. The AL raided the NL of many of its best
players, including Phillies teammate and superstar Nap Lajoie, beginning
a war that lasted for two years before the two settled many of their
differences in January 1903.
In 1901 Fraser led the A’s in wins with 22 while
tossing a team- and career-high 331 innings, but also led the league in walks
and hit batters with a career-worst 32.
In 1902 Phillies owner John I. Rogers was awarded an injunction by the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court that barred Fraser, Lajoie, and Bill Bernhard
from playing with any team but the Phillies.
Fraser went back to the Phillies, for whom he toiled
for the next three years, going 38-54 from 1902 to 1904. Arguably his career highlight came on
September 18, 1903, when he threw a no-hitter against the Colts in
Chicago. Otherwise, it was another poor
season in which Fraser went 12-17 with a 4.50 ERA in a league that averaged
3.26/ His 14-24 showing in ’04 began a
steak of 20-loss seasons that has yet to be broken and probably never will be.
The Phillies lost 100 games in 1904 for the first time
in franchise history, a total that would stand as the franchise’s worst until
1921, and Fraser bore the brunt of the squad’s terrible play, although he
didn’t help himself by finishing among the 10 worst in walks, wild pitches, and
ERA. On December 20 Fraser was traded
along with third baseman Harry Wolverton to the Boston Beaneaters for
pitcher Togie Pittinger.
As if things couldn’t get worse, the Beaneaters lost
103 games and finished a staggering 54 ½ games out of first place. They boasted a pitching staff with four
20-game losers, including Fraser, who went 14-21 and once again led the league
in walks, this time with 149. Earlier in
the season, Honus Wagner claimed Fraser invented the spitball, prompting
Sporting Life to quip, “If that is so Fraser didn’t know its value, or
made poor use of it.”[18]
Fraser continued to sign with Boston after the season
so the Beaneaters sent him to the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Gus Dorner
on May 4, 1906[19]. The new Reds hurler
was involved in an interesting, albeit not rare incident in Brooklyn on Sunday,
June 17, when he and four others were arrested for playing ball on the
Sabbath. Blue Laws at the time
prohibited games from being played on Sunday and many arrests were made over
the years with charges either being dropped or players receiving fines.
The Brooklyn Superbas ignored the law and played seven
Sunday games during the first half of the 1904 season before team President Charles
Ebbets tired of players being arrested.
The following season was much of the same, however; games played in
Brooklyn on Sunday resulted in arrests or charges being filed, but Brooklyn
continued to host games on Sundays regardless.
On June 17, 1906, Superbas pitcher Mal Eason threw only two
pitches before police officers arrested Eason, Ebbets, Brooklyn manager Patsy
Donovan, Reds manager Ned Hanlon, and Fraser.
Ebbets knew arrests would be made but insisted he did nothing illegal, that he didn’t change an admission fee, and that voluntarily
dropped donations into contribution boxes on their way into Washington
Park[20]. The men were held on $500
bail, which was paid immediately and they were released. Magistrate John Naumer ruled in favor of the
defendants, citing that no admission fee had been charged and no one had
complained about noise or a disturbance.[21]
That would be one of the few highlights of the 1906
season for Fraser. The Reds went 64-87
and finished 51 ½ games behind the pennant-winning Chicago Cubs. Fraser went 10-20, losing 20 games for the
third straight year and the fifth time in 11 seasons. Among twentieth-century pitchers, Fraser is
one of only three to lose 20 games three years in a row and is the only one to
do it with three different teams.[22]
The ink on the season’s records had barely dried
before Fraser announced that he was considering retirement to tend to his
rapidly growing poultry business. “It’s
a big paying proposition,” he told reporters. “and I believe that the returns
will son justify me in giving up baseball.”[23]
Fraser’s comments prompted writers to take shots at his work ethic. “It evidently doesn’t require much energy to
run the poultry business,” wrote the Washington Post[24]. And Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press
claimed Fraser “doesn’t like work any too well” and would be a bad fit on a
team loaded with hard workers[25].
On November 19, 1906, it was reported that the Chicago
Cubs were interested in acquiring Fraser and that team President Charles
Murphy had been in talks with Reds President Garry Herrmann[26]. A week later the Reds put Fraser and a
handful of others on waivers and the Cubs claimed him, setting off a series of
contentious negotiations[27]. On
December 16, Fraser was sent to the Cubs, although Herrmann wouldn’t release
him until Murphy had decided to part with players or buy Frasier outright[28].
In January the Reds acquired outfielder Henry “Doc”
Gessler in exchange for Fraser, but the deal hit a snag when Herrmann heard
that Gessler had retired to practice medicine in Pennsylvania. The Reds magnate accused Murphy of trying to
hand his a “gold brick” and swore that he never agreed to a deal for
Gessler[29]. Gessler had received his
M.D. Degree from Baltimore Medical College, but had no intention of quitting
baseball and mailed his contract to Cincinnati[30]. Murphy finally settled the matter by sending
Herrmann a check for $1,500.
Fraser was reported to be “exceedingly jubilant,
tickled to death and elated” about going the Cubs, but the Wilkes-Barre
Record warned fans not to get too excited.
“Just wait till some hot day when Chick begins to give one of those
famous exhibitions of that tried feeling his.
Then Chicago fandom is likely to rise up and smite the twirler with a
vociferous vocabulary.”[31] But Fred
Clarke thought Fraser would thrive with the Cubs. “At that, the Chicken has plenty of nerve and,
under Frank Chance, he will pitch great ball without a doubt.’[32]
Fraser was on his seventh team in 12 years, but was
said to be a “fine fellow, well-liked by all who know him, and will fit in
nicely with the [Cubs].”[33] Chicago
manager and first baseman Frank Chance was excited to have the veteran
right-hander on his staff, calling Fraser a “real pitcher with a strong team to
back him.”[34] indeed, The Cubs were
coming off seasons in which they won 93, 92, and a record 116 games,
respectively, from 1904 to 1606.
Sporting Life’s W.A.
Phelon was effusive in his praise for Fraser, claiming he was “an easy-going
fellow, who seldom tries to pitch his arm off, which is probably the reason he
lasted so long, and is hardly ever thought of as an old-timer.”[35] he also wrote that Fraser “looks young and is
strong and happy.”[36]
Fraser made his first start of the 1907 campaign on
April 23 against the Reds in Chicago and exacted a measure of revenge with a
4-3 win. Those who thought he would
flourish with a great team behind him were right; he won five of his six
assignments and tossed shutouts in two of his first three starts. But the Cubs had a problem that every team
loves to have – too much pitching – and Fraser was the low man on the
rotation’s totem pole, which resulted in career lows in games (22), starts
(15), and innings (138 1/3).
Still, thanks in part to using a spitball later in the
season, Fraser had success, going 8-5 with a nifty 2.28 ERA for a team that won
107 games and easily won the World Series over the Detroit Tigers. Alas, the men ahead of Fraser in the pitching
pecking order – Mordecai Brown, Orval Overall, Carl Lundgren, Jack Pfiester,
and Ed Reulbach – were so good, combining for a 1.43 ERA in almost 1,100
innings, that he wasn’t needed in the fall classic.
Fraser would have another opportunity in 1908,
however. Off the field, his business
ventures were expanding – he owned a 20-acre plantation in Cuba and an 80-acre
alfalfa ranch near Jerome, Idaho – but he wanted to continue playing
ball[37]. He returned to the Cubs and
helped them to their third straight pennant, going 11-9 with a 2.27 ERA as the
fifth starter behind Brown, Reulbach, Pfiester, and Overall, who won 80 games
between them and posted a combined 1.84 ERA.
Fraser’s last chance to pitch in a World Series came
and went after Chance went with his four best starters in a Series against the
Tigers that went only five games before the Cubs secured their second straight
championship.
After another holdout, Fraser signed his contract with
the Cubs in early March of 1909 and made his first season appearance on
May 3 in a 9-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
He threw three innings of relief after Andy Coakley was knocked
from the box. It proved to be Fraser’s last hurrah. He allowed no earned runs on two hits, but
walked four and fanned only one in his final major league game. Soon after, the 35-year-old was released to
the New Orleans Pelicans of the Class-A Southern Association. He wouldn’t go quietly.
In June, Fraser complained to the National Commission
that the Cubs failed to pay his travel expenses to New Orleans, violating Rule
45 of the Commission’s code, and that therefore he should be declared a free
agent[38]. Charles Murphy was
apoplectic, calling Fraser “an ingrate in every sense of the word,” and
claiming that Fred Clarke was using Fraser to “raise trouble in the ranks of
the Cubs to promote the interests of the Pirates in the championship race.”[39]
The National Commission rejected Fraser’s claim and he
threatened to sue Murphy, then joined the Chicago West Ends of the Chicago
League, prompting Murphy to file a protest in 1910 because Fraser’s
presence in the CL made it an outlaw league[40]. The pitcher helped lead the West Ends to a
league championship and capped off his season with a one-hitter on September
24, but was suspended from the major leagues and fined $200 for failing to
report to New Orleans[41].
He would report to the Pelicans in 1911, but not
before serving as a witness at a murder trial.
On March 20, Fraser testified that he, his wife, and five other couples,
including Charles and Theresa Schenk, had been celebrating Fraser’s 14th
wedding anniversary into the morning of March 18 with whiskey, champagne, wine,
and dancing at the Schenk residence when Mrs. Schenk became dizzy and was put
to bed. After the party, Theresa claimed
to be awakened by burglars so she grabbed a revolver and went to the top of the
stairs. Upon seeing a man at the bottom
of the stairs, she shot and killed him[42].
The man turned out to be her husband, Charles. Despite her claims of innocence, that it was
an accidental shooting, a witness stated that he heard two gunshots
about a minute apart[43]. Indeed, police
found a second bullet on the second floor and surmised that the couple had
argued in their upstairs bedroom, she fired the first shot there, he fled down
the stairs, and she fired the fatal shot from atop the staircase[44]. A month later, Theresa Schenk was cleared of
all charges due to a lack of motive[45].
Fraser started 11 games for New Orleans and went 4-6
with a 3.89 ERA before being released and, at 38, finished his career in 1912
with Decatur of the Three-Eye League, for whom he went 6-6 with a 3.03 ERA in
15 games while also serving as manager.
His playing career over, Fraser repaired to his farm in Idaho before
beginning his second career in 1914 as the Pirates’ pitching coach under his
brother-in-law and pal, Fred Clarke. He
also served as a scout with Pittsburgh, for whom he worked until he was released
in December 1930. It was during this
time that Fraser’s father died on November 1, 1916, after living in a Chicago
sanatorium for six years.
Fraser managed the Peoria Tractors of the Three-Eye
League in 1931 before returning to the big leagues in 1934. That year, Casey Stengel earned his
first big-league managing job, with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and almost
immediately added Fraser to his staff, where he served as coach during the
spring, much to the chagrin of the players, and as a scout until October.
Fraser used a drill called “high-low” to keep his
players in shape, in which he “tossed a ball repeatedly – high, low, inside,
outside, and everywhere pp and the bending and twisting required to catch the
pellet had the boys asking for mercy.”[46]
The players called the drill “Murder” and tried to keep their distance
from the coach for fear that he’d make them play his “game.”[47] He also delighted in belting fungus just out
of their reach, forcing them to run long distances at top speed. He was so adept at gauging each man’s
abilities that he was said to be able to put a fly ball exactly where the
player thought he had a chance to catch it before coming up a step short[48].
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle claimed that Fraser
returned to his Idaho farm every offseason and “their plot insidious methods
of unusual exercise calculated to make the boys sleep well on March and April
nights.”[49]
In 1939, Fraser became a scout for the New York
Yankees and was assigned to the Northwest region of the country, but in April
1940, he was admitted to a hospital in Wendell, Idaho, not far from his Jerome
home, and was said to be in a “critical state”.[50] A blood infection forced doctors to amputate
Fraser’s right leg and, not long after, his left leg just below the knee[51].
On May 8, Fraser died of kidney disease at the age of
66[52]. He is buried in Jerome Cemetery
in Jerome, Idaho.
Notes:
1. Idaho Death Certificate; The Chicago Tribune
listed Fraser’s father as “Alexander” on
November 2, 1916, after he died on November 1.
2. W.A. Phelon, “Taylor Case Still Worrying Lakeside
Fans — Chance For a Big Misunderstanding
All Around — Scramble in Cubs Outfield — News
of the Game,” Sporting Life, January 28,
1905: 7. Fraser was known as Chick as early
as 1891 when he was 18. Sporting Life reported
in May 906 Fraser was running a chicken farm
outside Chicago while holding out for more
money from Boston, so it’s possible he’d been
around chickens most of his life. But that’s just
speculation.
3. Francis Richter, “An Excellent Programme Laid
Out For He — Two Virginia League Graduates —
About A couple of Young Players — Anson’s
Theatrical Hit,” Sporting Life, December 21,
1895: 6.
4. Francis Richter, “Something About Fraser, the
Pitcher Whom St, Louis is Angling For — The
Drawback to Playing in the Virginia League,
Etc.” Sporting Life, November 30, 1895: 8.
5. Francis Richter, “An Excellent Programme Laid
Out For He — Two Virginia League Graduates
—About a Couple of Young Players—Anson’s
Theatrical Hit,” Sporting Life, December 21,
1895: 6.
6. “Garden Citys and Whitings a Tie: On an Even
Footing for the City League Championship,”
Chicago Tribune, September 28, 1891: 6.
7. Francis Richter, “Something About Fraser, the
Pitcher Whom St. Louis is Angling For — The
Drawback to Playing in the Virginia League, Etc.
Sporting Life, November 30, 1895: 8.
8. “National League News,” Sporting Life,
October 3, 903: 9; “Pitcher Fraser Expert With
Lasso,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 22,
1906: 13.
9. Francis Richter, “Minor Mention.” Sporting Life,
August 6, 898: 19.
10. Francis Richter, “Louisville Lines. The Team is
Now in Good Shape Through a Good Third
Baseman is Still Desired — Players Left at Home
— General News and Gossip,” Sporting Life,
August 20, 1898: 15.
11. Francis Richter, “The Colonels Still Playing
Fast Ball — What the Recent Team Changes
Import — The Outlook For Next Year, Etc.,
” Sporting Life, September 17, 1898: 7.
12. Cy Seymour led the National League with 32
hit batters but faced 459 more batters than
Fraser. Vic Willis tied Fraser’s 29 but faced 211
more batters.
13. Francis Richter, “The Colonels Still Playing
Fast Ball.”
14. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 11, 1907.
15. Francis Richter, “Local Jottings,” Sporting
Life, October 21, 1899: 8.
16. “The Phillies Spring Traning Place Settled,
Charlotte, N.C., Will Again Be Their Stamping
Ground — The Club Looking For a Third
Baseman — Lauder Likely to Leave the Team,
Sporting Life, January 20, 1900: 7.
17. Baseball-Reference.com.
18. “National League News,” Sporting Life,
May 13, 1905: 5.
19. Wm. F.H. Koelsch, “Helped Fraser’s Deal,”
Sporting Life, May 26, 1906: 2.
20. “Brooklyn Shut Out by Reds 3 To 0,” New
York Tribune, June 18, 1906.
21. “Sunday Baseball O.K., So Naumer Concludes",
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 19, 1906: 2.
22. Casey Patten had three straight 20-loss seasons
with the Washington Senators from 1903-1905
and Irv Young had three straight with the Boston
Beaneaters/Doves from 1905-1907.
23. Ralph S. Davis, “Sox Again Down the Nationals,
” Pittsburgh Press, October 12, 1906: 22.
24. “Echoes of the Diamond,” Washington Post,
February 1, 1907: 8.
25. Ralph S. Davis, “Charley Murphy Busy,
" Pittsburgh Press, December 2, 1906: 20.
26. “Favors a Longer Series,” Chicago Inter Ocean,
November 9, 1906: 9.
27. “Player Trade Rumored,” Wilkes-Barre Record,
November 26, 1906: 9.
28. “Chicago Gets Chick Fraser,” Pittsburgh Daily
Post, December 16, 1906: 17.
29. “Murphy Answers ‘Garry’ Herrmann,” Chicago
Tribune, January 15, 1907: 6.
30. “Gessler’s Name on List,” Chicago Tribune,
February 23, 1907: 10.
31. “To Stop Betting at Base Ball Games,” Wilkes-
Barre Record, December 24, 1906: 11.
32. Bat Masterson, “Jimmy Collins Is in St. Louis,
” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 11, 1907: 7.
33. 'Chick' Fraser Will Help Cubs’ Staff,”
Belvidere (Illinois) Daily Republican, January
17, 1907: 2.
34. W.A. Phelon, “Chas. Comiskey Has Something
Under His Hat,” Sporting Life, December 8,
1906: 9.
35. Ibid.
36. Ibid.
37. John B. Foster, “National League News,”
Sporting Life, February 15, 1908: 5; A.R. Cratty,
“National League News,” Sporting Life,
November 7, 1908: 3.
38. “Fraser Fractious,” Sporting Life, June 19,
1909: 9.
39. Ibid. If Murphy’s accusations were true, and
I highly doubt they were, Clarke and Fraser did
a terrible job upending the Cubs. The Cubs won
the World Series in the two seasons in which
Fraser pitched for them. Although he was a
troublemaker in 1909 and caused some problems
during spring training, he wasn’t around long
enough to be much of a disruption. Not to
mention that the Pirates won 110 games, which
still ranks second all-time among National League
teams and is tied for fifth all-time. The Cubs won
104 games in 1909, but I doubt Fraser was the
reason they couldn’t top the Pirates.
40. “Pitcher Fraser Not Satisfied With His
Commission Turn-Down,” Sporting Life,
July 3, 1909: 1; “After Chick Fraser,” Los Angeles
Times, April 17, 1910: VII8.
41. “Seek to Reinstate Fraser,” Chicago Tribune,
March 23, 1911: 19.
42. “Mrs. Schenk Is Ordered Held,” Boston Globe,
March 21, 1911: 9.
43. Ibid.
44. Ibid.
45. “Clears the Name of Mrs. Schenk,” Chicago
Tribune, April 25, 1911: 3.
46. Roscoe McGowen, “Vigorous Session Staged
by Dodgers, ” New York Times, March 6,
1934: 31.
47. John Lardner, “Brooklyn’s Rookies Balk at
‘Murder, Hartford Courant, March 11, 1935: 3."
48. Tommy Holmes, “Fraser Keeps Dodgers Hopping
Despite Unusual Weather, ”Brooklyn Daily Eagle,
March 10, 1936: 16.
49. Ibid.
50. “Chick Fraser in Critical State,” Ogden (Utah)
Standard Examiner, April 25, 1940: 14.
51. “Chick Fraser Condition ‘Grave,’” Idaho Falls
(Idaho) Post-Register, May 2, 1940: 12.
52. “Chick Fraser of Yankees Dies at Wendell,”
Idaho Falls Post-Register, May 8, 1940: 13.
Full Name: Charles Carrolton Fraser
Born: August 26, 1873 at Chicago, IL (USA)
Died: May 8, 1940 at Wendell, ID (USA)