| Dick Higham | |
|---|---|
| Catcher | |
| Batted: Left | Threw: Right |
| Born: {{{birthdate}}} | |
| MLB Debut | |
| June 1, 1871 for the New York Mutuals | |
| Final game | |
| unknown, 1880 for the Troy Trojans | |
| Career Statistics | |
| Batting average | .307 |
| Home runs | 4 |
| RBIs | 204 |
| Teams | |
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| Career Highlights and Awards | |
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Richard Higham (July 24 1851 - March 18 1905) was a 19th-century professional baseball player born in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. During his career he was a very versatile player, fielding multiples positions, mainly as a right fielder and catcher with notable playing time as a second baseman as well. In 1871, he joined the New York Mutuals of the National Association during its inaugural season and played until the league was dissolved after the 1875 season, serving as player-manager in 1874. He then moved on to the newly formed National League, baseball's first recognized major league, where he hit in the first NL triple play against the New York Mutuals on May 13, 1876. In 1877, he served as captain of the Syracuse Stars in the inaugural year of the International League, which was part of the League Alliance, with whom the National League had a working relationship.
After his playing days were over, he served as an umpire. In 1882, the mayor of Detroit and President of the Detroit Wolverines, William G. Thompson, suspected that Higham was intentionally making calls against his team and hired a private detective. The detective was able to produce letters from Higham to a well-known gambler in which he outlined when to make his bets. On June 24 of that year, Thompson and the other owners banished him from baseball; thus Higham became the first (and, so far, only) major league umpire to be expelled for dishonesty.
After his banishment, he reportedly moved back to Chicago and became a bookkeeper. It was here where he passed away and was laid to rest at Mount Hope Cemetery.
References[]
- Seymore, Harold, Baseball: The Early Years, page 343.
- Higham, Harold V., and Larry Gerlach. Dick Higham, Star of Baseball's Early Years. The National Pastime. 21 (2001), 72-80.
External links[]
- Baseball-Reference.com - Major league career statistics
- Baseball Almanac
- BaseballLibrary
- The Baseball Project