Stuffy McInnis
His name was John, but they called him Stuffy. Back when Stuffy McInnis was a kid, he would play on teams with his older brothers, and fans who saw him make a good play would shout, “That’s the stuff, kid.” Thus, Stuffy. They don’t make nicknames like they used to.
By almost any measure, 1918 was the worst season of Stuffy McInnis’ otherwise very solid career. A native of Gloucester, Mass., about 30 miles north of Boston, he was a star with Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics, batting .313 and making three World Series appearances as part of Mack’s “$100,000 infield.” But Mack, suffering losses at the gate because of the war and determined to break up his club in order
Stuffy McInnis (left) sits with Harry Frazee and ex-manager Jack Barry (right) as he signs on with the Red Sox before the 1918 season. (Photo courtesy of the Boston Public Library.) to rebuild, traded McInnis to the Red Sox for the fairly steep price of third baseman Larry Gardner, outfielder Tilly Walker and outfielder Hick Cady.
McInnis was a top-rated defensive first baseman, but with Dick Hoblitzell aboard, the Red Sox had planned to make him a third baseman. Though he did not play badly at the hot corner, he wasn’t quite comfortable. He moved back to first base when Hoblitzell left for the army, but still, McInnis wasn’t himself at the plate. He was suffering from boils and, at one point from June 13-July 11, he batted .096, going just 17-for-178.
Still, his defense was top-notch, and he bounced back to bat .291 after July 11, finishing with a.272 average. It wasn’t what was expected of McInnis, but it was respectable. In the World Series, he didn’t quite knock the cover off the ball, but he did hit .250, which was tied for the team lead in the series.
McInnis also made a sterling play that helped win Game 1 for the Red Sox. On a bunt by Charley Hollocher, third baseman Fred Thomas was late to react and hurried his throw to McInnis, who had to reach around Hollocher to grab the throw. “Two out of three first basemen would have let that ball go and chased it to the stands,” Hugh Fullerton wrote. “But McInnis made the play perfectly and upset the game.”
McInnis also caught the final out of the 1918 World Series. He was sent to Cleveland as part of the Red Sox purge in 1922, then finished out his career with the Braves, Pirates and Phillies.
