71 Facts About Donie Bush

Owen Joseph "Donie" Bush was an American professional baseball player, manager, team owner, and scout.

Donie Bush was active in professional baseball from 1905 until his death in 1972.

Donie Bush was recognized as one of the best defensive shortstops of the dead-ball era.

Donie Bush had more putouts, assists, and total chances than any other shortstop of the era, and his 1914 totals of 425 putouts and 969 chances are still American League records for shortstops.

Donie Bush led the American League in assists by a shortstop on five occasions and holds the major league record with nine triple plays.

Related searches

Donie Bush ranked among the American League leaders in stolen bases ten times, and, during the decade from 1910 to 1919, the only players to score more runs than Bush were Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, and Tris Speaker.

Donie Bush's 400 stolen bases as a Tiger rank second in franchise history, behind only Cobb.

Donie Bush served as a manager in professional baseball for the Washington Senators, Indianapolis Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Minneapolis Millers, and Louisville Colonels.

Donie Bush was a co-owner of the Louisville Colonels and Indianapolis Indians, president of the Indians, and a scout for the Boston Red Sox.

Donie Bush was given the title "King of Baseball" during Major League Baseball's 1963 winter meetings.

Donie Bush was known as "Mr Baseball" in Indianapolis and was an inaugural inductee of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame.

Donie Bush was the son of Irish-American parents and raised on the east side of Indianapolis.

Donie Bush's father died when Bush was a child, and at the time of the 1900 United States Census, Bush was living with his mother and two older siblings in Center Township, near or in Indianapolis.

Donie Bush was one of the best defensive shortstops of the dead-ball era.

Donie Bush collected more putouts, assists, and total chances than any other shortstop of the era, and his 1914 total of 425 putouts is still the Major League record for shortstops.

Donie Bush led the American League in assists by a shortstop on five occasions: 1909,1911,1912,1914, and 1915.

Donie Bush holds the Major League record for most career triple plays with nine.

Donie Bush's triple plays came on May 4,1910, April 24,1911, May 20,1911, September 9,1911, April 6,1912, August 23,1917, August 14,1919, May 18,1921, and September 14,1921.

At the time of his retirement in 1923, Donie Bush had 1,158 walks, second best in Major League history trailing only Eddie Collins.

Donie Bush collected 337 sacrifice hits in his career, ranking him fifth on the all-time Major League leader list.

Donie Bush led the league with 52 sacrifice hits in 1909 and hit another 48 in 1920.

Donie Bush began his professional baseball career in 1905 playing for the Sault Ste.

Donie Bush was sold by the Detroit team to play the 1908 season for the Indianapolis Browns of the American Association.

In late August 1908, Donie Bush, then known as "Ownie", was sold by the Indianapolis club to the Detroit Tigers.

Donie Bush replaced O'Leary at shortstop for the team's final 20 regular season games.

Related searches

Donie Bush helped to win the American Association pennant for the Hoosiers by his wonderful all around work, and then came on to Detroit in time to save Jennings' team from defeat.

Donie Bush is about as fast as Cobb on the bases, a great fielding shortstop and a good batsman, a man who hits right or left handed with equal efficiency.

In January 1909, Donie Bush signed a contract to return to the Tigers, and he became the Tigers' starting shortstop for the next 13 seasons.

Donie Bush's 52 stolen bases set an American League rookie record that stood for 83 years until Kenny Lofton stole 66 bases in 1992.

Donie Bush played in all seven games of the 1909 World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming the surprise hitting star for Detroit.

Donie Bush scored five runs, collected five bases on balls, was twice hit by a pitch, and compiled nine putouts, 18 assists, and three double plays.

Donie Bush is so small that a pitcher has to have absolute control to get the ball over for him, and it makes him a most valuable lead-off man for a team, because there is hardly a day that he does not reach the bases one or more times.

Donie Bush ranked among the American League leaders with a defensive WAR of 1.

In 1913, Donie Bush led the American League with 694 plate appearances and was again among the league leaders with 80 bases on balls, 44 stolen bases, 98 runs, 331 putouts at shortstop, and 510 assists at shortstop.

Donie Bush again led all American League players with 703 plate appearances and 504 assists and was again among the league leaders with 118 bases on balls, 99 runs, 35 stolen bases, 340 putouts at shortstop, 61 double plays turned at shortstop, 5.

Kofoed wrote that Donie Bush had only five fewer chances than Rabbit Maranville and seven fewer errors, noted that Donie Bush made "spectacular plays" in the field "day after day".

Apart from baseball, Donie Bush is a mighty fine fellow, good-natured, lively, generous, and the sort of man anyone would like to have for a friend.

Donie Bush is simply unsurpassable as a fielding shortstop and while a weak hitter according to the records he is nevertheless a dangerous man on the offensive through his well-known ability to secure free passage to first base and his amazing swiftness of foot once he reaches that initial station on the homeward journey.

Donie Bush is a little man perhaps the shortest of stature in organized baseball.

In 1920, Donie Bush led the American League with 48 sacrifice hits—the seventh highest total in Major League history.

Donie Bush became involved in repeated arguments with Cobb's "first lieutenant", Dan Howley.

Donie Bush's style made the hard ones look harder and the easy chances look hard.

Donie Bush had an uncanny ability to judge the speed of a runner on his way to first.

Donie Bush never seemed to hurry a throw, and he seemed never to throw with speed.

In late August 1921, Donie Bush was selected off waivers by the Washington Senators and became the team's starting shortstop for the final 33 games of the 1921 season.

Related searches

Donie Bush began the 1922 season on a hot streak at the plate.

In December 1922, Washington owner Clark Griffith hired Donie Bush to replace Clyde Milan as player-manager for the 1923 season.

Donie Bush appealed to the umpire that Gerber had batted out of order.

In July 1924, a "Donie Bush Day" was held in Indianapolis with 10,000 fans showing up to honor Donie Bush and present him with gifts.

In 1926, Donie Bush developed appendicitis during a road trip and returned to Indianapolis to undergo surgery.

In October 1926, Donie Bush was hired to replace Bill McKechnie as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Donie Bush's Pirates finished in fourth place in 1928 and in second place in 1929.

On September 30,1929, Donie Bush signed a two-year contract to serve as the manager of the Chicago White Sox starting with the 1930 season.

Donie Bush falls heir to a run-down team, with little financial backing and a quick-to-criticize public.

In December 1933, Donie Bush was hired as the manager of the Minneapolis Millers, the team he had coached in 1932.

Donie Bush remained with the Millers from 1934 to 1938 and won pennants in 1934 and 1935.

In September 1938, Donie Bush announced that he was resigning his position as manager of the Minneapolis Millers to become a co-owner, general manager and field manager of the Louisville Colonels of the American Association.

Donie Bush was in a St Louis hospital at the time and stated that he was selling his interest in the team due to poor health.

Donie Bush lived on the 200 block of North Walcott Street in east Indianapolis from at least 1910 through 1940.

In December 1941, after Donie Bush recuperated from a lengthy illness, Donie Bush and McKinney bought the Indianapolis Indians from Norman Perry.

In November 1942, Donie Bush announced that he would take over as field manager in 1943 while continuing as the club's president as well.

Donie Bush managed the team for the entire 1943 but was forced by ill health to give up his role as field manager in May 1944, hiring his long-time friend Mike Kelly to take over as the team's manager.

On February 25,1952, Donie Bush was replaced as the club's president after holding the position for nearly 10 years.

Donie Bush continued to hold a minority interest in the club and remained with the club as an executive without title.

The Sporting News noted that the reorganization marked the first time since Donie Bush's playing days that he had been without an official title.

Related searches

On January 30,1956, Donie Bush was named president and general manager of the club.

On February 1,1969, Donie Bush announced that he was resigning as the club's president after holding the position continuously since 1956.

Donie Bush, who was 81 years old, stated that he was quitting as the result of "a front-office squabble" with the club's chairman, Louis Hensley, and general manager, Max Schumacher.

Donie Bush was given the title "King of Baseball" during Major League Baseball's 1963 winter meetings.

Donie Bush fell ill during spring training in Florida and died three weeks later after returning home to Indianapolis.

Donie Bush was posthumously elected to the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979 and was known as "Mr Baseball" in Indianapolis.