George Cutshaw was an under rated second baseman for the Brooklyn Robins of 1915, a team that finished 3rd in the National League that year. He was clearly appreciated by the fans in a pre-twitter age of communication.
On August 9th the Brooklyn Robins beat the Chicago Cubs 13-0 at the old West Side Grounds in Chicago. The game was even more one-sided it than the final run tally. The Robins had 13 runs on 23 hits with one error; the Cubs managed just two hits while committing 2 errors.
The hitting hero of the game was the team’s George Cutshaw who batted fifth in the lineup and had a perfect day at the plate, going 6 of 6. Not surprising during the dead ball era, all of this hits were singles. His perfection at the plate enabled him to be first Dodger to get six hits in a nine inning game. For the record, only five other Dodgers have gotten a record 6 hits in a game, the last was Shawn Green in May of 2002 who achieved this feat in hitter friendly Miller Park in Milwaukee.
While his feat was quite remarkable, however; it was not the best single day at the plate in the Brooklyn clubhouse. His manager, Wilbert Robinson went 7 for 7 for the Old Orioles on June 10, 1892.
Coincidentally and helping overshadow Cutshaw’s achievement even more occurred nine years later on August 9, 1924. His 6 for 6 performance was not the best in baseball history of the day! Hall of Famer Kiki Cuyler of the Pirates also went 6 for 6, with more total bases that day: three doubles and one triple.
His feat was not overlooked by the passionate and supportive Brooklyn baseball fans, as Baseball Magazine of October 1915 featured his achievement with the following story:
George Cutshaw was just a plain, every-day sort of player, the kind who bear the brunt of the work and never get the glory. But the other day he went forth and made six hits in six successive times at bat in a nine-inning contest. No, it isn’t a world’s record.
It has been equaled—even surpassed. But it is one of baseball’s rarities, on a par with the triple play unassisted. And it serves to call attention to Cutshaw’s sterling work.
Image courtesy of BASEBALL MAGAZINE Vol 15, No. 6 October 1915. Page 37.
Cutshaw played a dozen years in the Majors with Brooklyn, Pittsburgh and finally Detroit, which spanned the dead ball era to the early 20’s. Like most players in the deadball era (1900 -1919) & spitball era (1914-1919), he hit more triples than home runs 8 to 3 respectfully. His batting average was not high, but a respectable .261 mark.
He was a mid-westerner to the core, born in Illinois in 1886, and later in his life moved to the southwest to avoid the cold winters. He died in San Diego on August 22, 1973. What makes George unique at the time is he played college baseball. He was one of almost ninety Fighting Irish in the big leagues, albeit for just one year, 1908.
Sources: Baseball Magazine October 1915, stats courtesy of Baseball-reference.com and Baseball-Almanac.com.
Review Overview
