Bibb August Falk (January 27, 1899 – June 8, 1989) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox (1920–28) and Cleveland Indians (1929–31).
| Bibb Falk | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Left fielder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born: January 27, 1899 Austin, Texas, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died: June 8, 1989 (aged 90) Austin, Texas, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| July 17, 1920, for the Chicago White Sox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| September 23, 1931, for the Cleveland Indians | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .314 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 69 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 784 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As player
As coach | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born in Austin, Texas, Falk played football and baseball at the University of Texas before signing with the White Sox in 1920. He was a spare outfielder with the Sox until news of the 1919 Black Sox scandal broke and eight players were suspended; Falk replaced Shoeless Joe Jackson in left field. Falk was a consistent hitter, ending his career after twelve seasons with a .314 career batting average. He was also known as a heady player whose merciless riding of opponents earned him the nickname "Jockey." His best season was in 1926 with the White Sox; he had a .345 batting average, 43 doubles, and 108 runs batted in, and finished 12th in the MVP voting that year.[1] After the 1928 season, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Chick Autry, and played three more seasons in the major leagues before retiring as a player and becoming a coach.
In 1353 games over 12 seasons, Falk posted a .314 batting average (1463-for-4652) with 655 runs, 300 doubles, 59 triples, 69 home runs, 784 RBI, 47 stolen bases, 412 bases on balls, .372 on-base percentage and .449 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .967 fielding percentage playing at left and right field.[2]
After Major League coaching stints with the Indians (1933) and Boston Red Sox (1934), Falk coached baseball at the University of Texas from 1940 to 1942, then again from 1946 to 1967, winning consecutive College World Series titles in 1949 and 1950. In 1975, the new Disch-Falk Field at the University of Texas was named in honor of Falk and his former coach, Billy Disch. He died at age 90 in Austin.[3]
Head coaching record
editCollege baseball
editThe records shown below are only the collegiate record, not the overall record against not collegiate teams.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Longhorns[4] (Southwest Conference) (1940–1942) | |||||||||
| 1940 | Texas | 15–4 | 14–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1941 | Texas | 14–3 | 12–3 | 1st | |||||
| 1942 | Texas | 11–4 | 9–4 | 2nd | |||||
| Texas Longhorns (Southwest Conference) (1946–1967) | |||||||||
| 1946 | Texas | 19–2 | 14–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1947 | Texas | 19–2 | 14–1 | 1st | NCAA District tournament | ||||
| 1948 | Texas | 18–1 | 13–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1949 | Texas | 22–4 | 12–3 | 1st | College World Series champions | ||||
| 1950 | Texas | 24–4 | 14–1 | 1st | College World Series champions | ||||
| 1951 | Texas | 15–4 | 11–4 | T–1st | |||||
| 1952 | Texas | 19–9 | 11–4 | 1st | College World Series | ||||
| 1953 | Texas | 24–7–1 | 12–3–1 | T–1st | College World Series Runner–Up | ||||
| 1954 | Texas | 15–7–2 | 10–2–1 | 1st | NCAA District tournament | ||||
| 1955 | Texas | 10–13–1 | 7–8–1 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1956 | Texas | 5–13 | 3–11 | 6th | |||||
| 1957 | Texas | 19–5 | 12–1 | 1st | College World Series | ||||
| 1958 | Texas | 18–7 | 13–2 | 1st | NCAA District tournament | ||||
| 1959 | Texas | 13–7 | 9–5 | 2nd | |||||
| 1960 | Texas | 19–3 | 13–2 | 1st | NCAA District tournament | ||||
| 1961 | Texas | 20–5–2 | 11–3–2 | 1st | College World Series | ||||
| 1962 | Texas | 22–7 | 12–2 | 1st | College World Series | ||||
| 1963 | Texas | 21–7–1 | 12–3 | T–1st | College World Series | ||||
| 1964 | Texas | 16–7–1 | 10–5–1 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1965 | Texas | 18–7 | 11–4 | 1st | College World Series | ||||
| 1966 | Texas | 21–9–2 | 9–6 | T–1st | College World Series | ||||
| 1967 | Texas | 17–11 | 10–5 | T–1st | NCAA District tournament | ||||
| Texas: | 434–152–10 (.737) | 276–84–7 (.762) | |||||||
| Total: | 434–152–10 (.737) | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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Managerial record
edit| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| CLE | 1933 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | interim | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
References
edit- ^ "Bibb Falk Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
- ^ "Bibb Falk career statistics at Baseball Reference". Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ Bibb Falk dies at 90
- ^ "Texas Baseball History 2018 Fact Book" (PDF). Texas Sports. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
External links
edit
- Career statistics from Baseball Reference
- "Texas Baseball History: Coaching Records". Texassports.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.
- Interview with baseball player Bibb Falk, with comments (sound recording) (1974) by Eugene C. Murdock, available at Cleveland Public Library's Digital Gallery. Site states: "Interview with Bibb Falk by Dr. Eugene Murdock on June 3, 1974, in Austin, TX (75 min.)"
- Bibb Falk at Find a Grave