Jackson, Travis C.
Baseball
b. Nov. 2, 1903, Waldo, AR
d. July 27, 1987
The 5-foot-10½, 160-pound Jackson played briefly with the NL's New York Giants in 1922, spent most of the 1923 season with them, playing three infield positions, and became the team's starting shortstop in 1924.
An unsteady fielder at first, he eventually became a very good one, leading the league in fielding percentage in 1928 and 1930. He was also a good hitter with some power. Jackson hit over .300 six times and had 21 home runs and 94 RBI in his best power year, 1929, when he batted .294.
He played for pennant-winning teams in 1923, 1924, 1933, and 1936. Used only as a pinch-hitter in the 1923 World Series, he batted just .074 in 1924 and .222 in 1933, but he scored 4 runs and drove in 2 that year in the Giants' five-game victory over the Washington Senators.
Jackson was moved to third base in 1935, when he began to lose his range. He retired after the 1936 season and became a long-time minor league manager with occasional stints as a major league coach.