Lou Criger facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lou Criger |
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| Catcher | |||
| Born: February 3, 1872 Elkhart, Indiana, U.S. |
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| Died: May 14, 1934 (aged 62) Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| September 21, 1896, for the Cleveland Spiders | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| June 3, 1912, for the St. Louis Browns | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .221 | ||
| Home runs | 11 | ||
| Runs batted in | 342 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Louis "Lou" Criger (born February 3, 1872 – died May 14, 1934) was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for many years, from 1896 to 1912. Lou played for teams like the Cleveland Spiders, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns, and New York Highlanders. He was known for being a right-handed batter and thrower.
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Lou Criger's Baseball Journey
Lou Criger started his big league career with the Cleveland Spiders in 1896. A very famous pitcher named Cy Young was also on that team. Criger and Young became teammates and stayed together for many years, until 1908. Criger caught many of Cy Young's games, helping him win a lot of them.
After playing for Cleveland, Criger and Young moved to St. Louis for a couple of seasons. Then, in 1901, they joined a brand new team in Boston, which later became the Boston Red Sox. Lou Criger was the very first catcher to play on Opening Day for this new Boston team.
Winning the World Series
In 1903, Lou Criger played a huge part in baseball history. He caught every single inning of every game in the first-ever modern World Series. His team, the Boston Americans, won the championship that year! It was a very exciting time for baseball fans.
Catching a Perfect Game
Lou Criger also had another amazing moment in his career. On May 5, 1904, he was the catcher for Cy Young's perfect game. This was the first perfect game ever thrown in the American League. A perfect game means no batter from the other team reaches base for the entire game. It's one of the rarest achievements in baseball!
Criger and Young continued to play for Boston until 1908. After that, Criger played for the St. Louis Browns in 1909 and the New York Highlanders in 1910. He played his last major league game with the Browns in 1912.
Lou's Career Stats
Over his 16 years in Major League Baseball, Lou Criger had a batting average of .221. He hit 11 home runs and had 342 RBIs. He also stole 58 bases and scored 337 runs. Even though he wasn't a huge superstar, he was a very important player for his teams.
Life After Playing
For a short time in 1907, Lou Criger was a coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball team. He had to leave when it was time to report for spring training with his Boston team.
Lou Criger was born in Indiana in February 1872. He passed away in May 1934 in Tucson, Arizona. He was survived by his wife, one daughter, and five sons.
