Arthur Algernon Allison (January 29, 1849 – February 25, 1916) was an American Major League Baseball player from 1871 to 1876, who played his career primarily as an outfielder. He is known for playing in the first professional baseball game on May 4, 1871[1] between the Cleveland Forest Citys and the Fort Wayne Kekiongas,[2] as Cleveland's Center Fielder.[1]
| Art Allison | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: January 29, 1849 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| Died: February 25, 1916 (aged 67) Washington, D.C., US | |
Batted: Unknown Threw: Unknown | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 4, 1871, for the Cleveland Forest Citys | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 5, 1876, for the Louisville Grays | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting Average | .254 |
| Hits | 188 |
| Runs Batted In | 70 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
Biography
editAllison is also known as being the first ever strikeout recorded in major league history.[citation needed] Allison had a peak year during the 1873 season whilst playing for the Elizabeth Resolutes, where he had a career-high batting average of .320.[3] Despite Allison having the second highest batting average of the 1873 season,[4] the Resolutes as a team would place second to last in the National Association.[5] After his baseball career, Arthur worked as a printer and resided in Washington D.C. for over 20 years until he died on February 25, 1916, after a fatal accident caused by colliding with a truck due to snowy weather while heading to work.
References
edit- ^ a b "First Major League Game Ever Played". www.retrosheet.org. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ "MLB History: First MLB Game Played in National Association". Call to the Pen. May 4, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
- ^ "Art Allison Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
- ^ "1873 NA Player Standard Batting".
- ^ "1873 National Association Season Summary". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
