Evening star., 1954-01-06
5hortstop
Topped Only
5 in Durability
Scroppy .258 Hitter
On Miracle Braves,
a Other Nj Teums
BY the Associated Press

(Rabbit) Maranville, whose
slick fielding kept him on the
major league scene % years de-
spite a .258 lifetime batting
average, died last night Of q
heart attack. He was 81.
Rated one of the greatest
fielding shortstops in baseball
history, the colorful little Mar
anvAle was an important cog in
the .S1914 miracle" Braves who
came from last place on July 4
to win the National League pen
nant and then defeat the favored
Philadelphia Athletics in four
straight games in the World
Series.
Although he never batted 800.
excluding the 1918 season when
he hit .316 in II games before
enlisting in the Navy. Maran-
vile batted 1903 in two World
Series. He had four hits in l3
attempts against the Athletics in
the 1914 World Series and dupli-
Gated that performance with the
1928 st. Louis Cardinals. who
lost four straight to the Yankees.
Jim Bottomley. frankie FriSch
and Chick Hafey were among his
Cardinal teammates that year,
but Maranville outhit them all
and was st. Louis leading batter
in that series.
Unusual Style on Pop Flies.
Maranville's unusual style Of
fielding pop flies intrigued fans.
He virtually surrounded them.
constructing a sort of funnel by
placing his glove against his body
below the belt.
Rabbit played 2.670 major
league games. being surpassed in
the durability department only
by Ty Cobb. Iris Speaker. Honus
Wagner, Mel OFT and Eddie Col
Inns. He was a tid-bit beside such
players, standing only 5-feet-5
and weighing 1875 pounds when
he broke into the majors with
Boston in 1912.
He managed the Braves from
July until the end of the season
in 1920 and piloted the Chicago
Cubs for two months in 1925.
Maranyille also managed Elmira,
N. Y: Montreal. Albany and
Springfield. Mass. He was born
in Springfield. November IL.
1891, and will be buried there.
Joined Braves in 1912.
After breaking into organized
baseball with New Bedford.
Mass. in 1911. Maranville came
to the Braves late the following
season and stuck with them
through 1920. He shifted to
Pittsburgh for -four years. then
spent a year each with the Cubs
and Dodgers. The scrappy little
Irishman was with Rochester
most Of the 1927 season. but
played nine games with the
Cardinals that year and put in
a full season with them in 1928.
A right-handed hitter. he had his
best batting average with the
Pirates in 1922. hitting .295.
Rabbit returned to the Braves
in 1929 and remained with them
through 1885. He played 1913
games with Elmira in 1886. bat
ting 1923 at the age of As. Four
years later he participated in a
few games at Albany.
A broken leg, suffered in an
exhibition game with the YAM
KEGS. kept Maranville idle in
1884 and he bowed out of the
majors after appearing in only
% games with the Braves in 1885.
High in Hall of Fame Voting.
Maranville received 174 votes
by baseball writer's last year in
balloting for Hall of Fame mem
bership. Dizzy Dean and AL
Simmons were elected with 209
and 1919 votes. respectively, while
Bill Terry polled 19l and Bill
Dickey ITO.
Maranville. who died at his
home in the Woodside section of
New York, in late years had been
active in baseball as director of
the New York -Ameri-
cans sandlot program.
He is survived by his widow,
Helena, and a daughter. Mrs.
Peter McGuinis of Rochester.