Civil War Echoes: The Hitless Wonders

Until this year, the largest mismatch between the records of the teams in the World Series was the 1906 Series, which pitted the Chicago Cubs against the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox won the title despite batting only .198; ever after, the team was known as the Hitless Wonders.

The White Sox also had one player who was an echo of the Civil War.

This was their player-manager, Fielder Allison Jones. Aged 35 when he won the title, Jones was veteran baseball player with several teams. Born in Pennsylvania in 1871, he was a league champion 4 times and played and managed (often both) in the American, National, and Federal Leagues. (His biography by the Society of American Baseball Research is here.)

Fielder Jones was named for his great-uncle, Fielder Alsor Jones, who served as a regimental commander in the Army of the Cumberland. His most notable command was the 39th Indiana, a mounted infantry regiment. He held several interim brigade commands in 1863 and during the 1864 Atlanta Campaign. At war’s end he was a Brevet Brigadier General.