Frisch, "Frankie" (Frank F.)
Baseball
b. Sept. 9, 1898, New York, NY
d. March 12, 1973
At Fordham University, Frisch captained the baseball, basketball, and football teams and also competed in track. Walter Camp named him a second-team All-American halfback in 1918.
After graduating in 1919, Frisch signed a contract with the NL's New York Giants and immediately entered the major leagues. Originally a shortstop, he played second and third base with the Giants before settling in at second. A natural left-handed hitter, he had taught himself to switch-hit. His speed soon won him a nickname, the "Fordham Flash," from sportswriters.
Frisch batted .341 and led the league with 49 stolen bases in 1921, when the Giants won the first of four consecutive pennants. He hit .327 the following season and .348 in 1923, when he had a league-leading 223 hits. Frisch tied for the league lead with 121 runs scored and had a .328 average in 1924.
The Giants fell to second place in 1925 and all the way to fifth in 1926. Frisch, the captain of the team, had a serious falling out with manager John McGraw and left the Giants for a time. After the 1926 season, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals with pitcher Jimmy Ring for Rogers Hornsby.
Hornsby was very popular in St. Louis and fans were at first infuriated by the trade, but Frisch soon won them over with his all-around skill and his fiery, competitive style. After hitting .337 and leading in stolen bases with 48 in 1927, Frisch helped the Cardinals win the 1928 pennant with a .300 average and 107 runs scored.
The Cardinals also won pennants in 1930 and 1931, with Frisch hitting .346 and .311. He led the league in steals for a third time with 28 in 1931, when he was named the NL's most valuable player.
Chronic hamstring problems in both legs began to bother him in 1932, when he slipped below .300 for the first time since 1920. He was named playing manager during the 1933 season and the following year he guided the famed "Gas House Gang" to a pennant. His double with the bases loaded was a key hit when the Cardinals scored seven runs in the third inning of the seventh game of the World Series to beat Detroit 11-0.
Frisch began limiting his playing time in 1934 and appeared in only 17 games in 1937, his last season as a player. He was fired as manager late in the 1938 season. After a year as a radio broadcaster for the Boston Braves, he managed the Pittsburgh Pirates with little success from 1940 through 1946, returned to broadcasting for a year, served as coach with the Giants in 1948, and became manager of the Chicago Cubs in 1949. He was fired in mid-season of 1951 and left baseball for good. Frisch died of injuries suffered in an automobile accident.