John Grace
by William Bowen
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John Grace was one of the first stars of the American Base Ball Association with the Pittsburgh Weavers (later Industrials), later moving to the National Base Ball Association and playing a key role on a series of star-studded New York Knickerbockers teams. The shortstop was known for his serious demeanor and astonishing skills on the baseball diamond, turning in excellent seasons year in and year out.
In the first season of the American Base Ball Association’s existence, the Pittsburgh club, named the Weavers, had the good fortune of stumbling upon a player at one of their tryouts whose play was head and shoulders above that of the other attendees. John Grace, intensely private and never fond of speaking with the press, had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The Weavers’ scouts, who could scarcely believe their luck, convinced team ownership to sign Grace within the week. He was installed as the starting shortstop for the Weavers’ inaugural season and delivered on his promise immediately.
The soon-to-be-24-year-old Grace was everything scouts wanted from a baseball player—he had excellent contact hitting skills and gap power, speed and savvy on the bases, and a solid glove that would occasionally put him in the position to make spectacular plays. Grace was aggressive at the plate, making him a bit of a free swinger, but his ability to make contact with seemingly unhittable pitches and deposit them onto the outfield grass made this not much of an issue.
Grace played in every single Weavers game from 1882 until he left the team in 1888, save for a few weeks in 1884 when a back injury kept him out of the lineup. He was one of the only exciting players on those Pittsburgh teams, showcasing impressive range at shortstop and hitting balls into the gaps for doubles and triples, efficiently swiping bases if he hit singles. In 1884 Grace led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage, and in 1885 led the league in doubles. Unfortunately for Grace, the Weavers were unable to build a viable team around his considerable skills, and he spent his first six seasons on teams that failed to compete, and Grace stood as essentially the only player making those teams watchable.
Grace had never once complained about his position, but as his 30th birthday passed and the Weavers once again struggled to compete in 1888, team ownership decided that they would not be able to compete during his time in Pittsburgh, and wanted Grace to have a shot at a championship. In the middle of the season, they shipped him to a first-rate organization in the NBL, the reigning champion New York Knickerbockers, thrusting Grace into a race for the division, which the Knicks narrowly missed.
The 1890s Knickerbockers were built around their offense, in the form of Hall of Famer Pierre Ellsworth and Grace, who were later joined by fellow Hall of Famer Emmet Carlin. Grace played well in 1889, with Knicks fans embracing the star shortstop, who led the league in OPS.
Grace played in every game once again, hitting leadoff and playing shortstop every day, and the Knicks made the World Series in 1890. Grace played well, with 6 walks and 7 hits in 7 games, but the Knicks were flattened by their Brooklyn rivals. They missed the division title in 1891 but returned in 1892, with Grace leading the league in runs scored from atop a formidable lineup. Grace struggled in the Series this time around, though, and the Knicks fell once again to Brooklyn.
Grace was still a formidable hitter in 1893, but at 35 he had lost a step or two at shortstop. He was injured for part of the year, breaking his three-year consecutive-game streak, and the Knicks tried him at a variety of positions, including 18 disastrous games at catcher as part of a bizarre year in which the Knicks attempted to go through the whole season without a backup catcher after a contract dispute during spring training had led them to release their usual backup, Ephraim Reilly. Grace, ever the stoic, has refused to comment on his short-lived career behind the dish, but he was far from a natural at the position. The Knicks missed the playoffs.
Grace was converted to first base before the 1894 season, and stuck there for the rest of his career. Though not the menacing lineup presence he once was, the 36-year-old Grace was once again a solid hitter for a Knicks team that made it back to the World Series but fell to Cleveland, with Grace once again struggling at the plate.
In 1895, Grace’s offensive production slipped once again, but he remained a league average hitter and served as the Knicks’ starting first baseman. The Knicks made the World Series for the fourth time in Grace’s career there and finally triumphed, with Grace hitting well, driving in 6 runs in a 5-game triumph over Cincinnati—Grace’s first and only championship, finally delivering on the promise of his trade to New York.
Grace reportedly contemplated retirement over the offseason as he turned 38 but decided to return for one last go. He played in only 24 games but hit excellently and passed a number of milestones, including his 1000th run batted in and his 500th stolen base. However, 24-year-old first baseman Ollie Wait won the job after sharing time for the first two months of the season. After a month on the bench, rather than complaining, Grace asked the Knickerbockers for his release, which they granted him on July 9, 1896. Grace received some contract offers from other teams but decided he had had enough and retired shortly thereafter, retreating to a quiet life of humble anonymity.
John Grace slashed .307/.367/.427, good for a 135 OPS+ and 65.8 career WAR. He accumulated 2,159 base hits and stole 503 bases. Eagle led the league in plate appearances twice (1891, 1892), runs once (1892) doubles once (1885), batting average once (1884), on-base percentage once (1884), slugging percentage once (1884), and OPS twice (1884, 1889). He won Player of the Week nine times and Batter of the Month six times. Grace won the World Series (1895).
In 1957, John Grace was inducted into the Hall of Fame.