Napoleon "Larry" Lajoie
date: label: date made
content: 1950
name: label: Associated Name
content: Lajoie, Napoleon
label: Associated Name
content: Philadelphia Phillies
label: Associated Name
content: Philadelphia Athletics
label: Associated Name
content: Cleveland Naps
label: Associated Name
content: Cleveland Indians
notes: label: Description
content: Five-time American League batting champion Napoleon "Larry" Lajoie (1874-1954,) finished his exceptional Major League Baseball career with a lifetime .338 batting average, tied for the 16th greatest of all-time. His .421 average in 1901 remains the highest in American League history.
label: Description
content: Lajoie made his Major League debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1896. In 1901 he left for the newly formed American League, crossing town to join Manager Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics. The Phillies contested the move, resulting in a court ordered injunction that forced the A’s to trade the star batsman to the Cleveland Bronchos the following season.
label: Description
content: To publicize their addition of the celebrated infielder, The Bronchos changed their name to the <i>Naps.</i> Lajoie’s connection to the team was further entrenched by his service as the Nap’s player manager from 1905-1909. In 1915, when Lajoie returned to Philadelphia to play for the A’s, Cleveland changed it’s name one again, this time to the Indians.
label: Description
content: Lajoie retired from the Major Leagues following the 1916 season. He would go on to play and manage in the minor leagues before hanging up his glove for good in 1918.
label: Description
content: Widely considered one of the sport’s all-time greats, Lajoie had 3,243 hits, 14th most in Major League History, alongside 82 home runs and 1,599 runs batted in. The 1901 triple crown winner was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Baseball
label: web subject
content: Sports
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: CL.310547.034.16
label: accession number
content: 310547
label: catalog number
content: 310547.034.16
objectType: label: Object Name
content: card, baseball
label: Object Name
content: autograph
label: Object Name
content: autograph, baseball
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 in x 6 in; 10.16 cm x 15.24 cm