Ewing, "Buck" (William)
Baseball
b. Oct. 17, 1859, Hoagland, OH
d. Oct. 20, 1906
Baseball's first great catcher, Ewing entered the major leagues with the National League's Troy Haymakers in 1880. The Troy franchise folded after the 1882 season and a number of its players, including Ewing, went to the New York Giants.
Ewing batted .303 and led the league in home runs with 10 in his first year with New York and he was the league leader in triples with 20 the following season, 1884. More important than his hitting, though, were the contributions he made to the defensive side of the game.
He was the first catcher to throw from the crouch, rather than standing up, yet he made very accurate throws that were easy to catch. Ewing also pioneered the snap pickoff throw to catch a runner off base after a pitch.
A leadoff man for much of his career, the 5-foot-10, 188-pound Ewing was a fine base stealer despite a lack of great speed, because he was a student of pitchers and their deliveries.
The Giants won pennants in 1888 and 1889. Ewing then jumped to the New York team in the Players' League. That league lasted just one season, and Ewing returned to the Giants in 1891, but missed most of the season with an injury. He hurt his throwing arm in 1892, when he batted .310, and was traded to the Cleveland NL team.
Used primarily as an outfielder, he hit .344 in his first season in Cleveland, then slipped to .251 and was traded to Cincinnati. As Cincinnati's player manager, Ewing became a first baseman. He batted .318 in 1895, his last full season as a player. Ewing appeared in only 67 games in 1896 and had just one at-bat in 1897 before retiring as a player. He managed Cincinnati for two more seasons.
Ewing died three days after his 47th birthday, following a three-year battle against Bright's disease, a chronic inflammation of the kidneys.