Lindstrom, "Freddy" (Frederick C.)
Baseball
b. Nov. 21, 1905, Chicago, IL
d. Oct. 4, 1981
Lindstrom began playing major league baseball at the triple-A level in 1922, when he was only sixteen. He joined the NL's New York Giants late in the 1924 season to replace starting third baseman Heinie Groh, whose season had been ended by a knee injury.
The Giants won the pennant and Lindstrom, aged 18 years and 10 months, become the youngest player ever to appear in the World Series. Batting leadoff, he hit .333 with 10 hits, including 2 doubles, in New York's seven-game loss to the Washington Senators.
Despite his hitting, the decisive seventh game was a personal embarrassment to Lindstrom. The Giants were leading 3-1 in the 8th inning when a grounder hit a pebble and flew over Lindstrom's head, bringing in the tying runs. In the 12th inning, the Senators had a runner on second when another grounder to Lindstrom hit a pebble and went over his head to score the run that won the series for the Senators. Lindstrom wasn't given an error on either play, but he was heart-broken.
Lindstrom hit over .300 in 6 straight seasons, from 1926 through 1931, with a high of .379 in 1930. He led the league in hits with 231 in 1928, when his average was .358, and he was also the NL's best fielding third baseman that year.
In 1931, Lindstrom was moved to centerfield. A broken leg limited him to just 78 games and a .300 average. After slipping to .271 in 1932, Lindstrom was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had averages of .310 and .290 in two seasons there, then went to the Chicago Cubs. He was a part-time player with the Cubs in 1935 and the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1936 before retiring.
Lindstrom later did a sports radio program, managed in the minor leagues, and served as baseball coach at Northwestern University from 1947 through 1960.