Major League Baseball Player. He played Major League baseball for fifteen seasons (1913, 1915 to 1928) as a First Baseman with the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds. He is famously known in baseball history and popular baseball lore as the starting player replaced in the Yankees lineup on June 2, 1925 by future Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig, who would then go on to play in 2,130 consecutive games and become one of the greatest players in Major League history. Wally Pipp’s major league career began in 1913 when he played in 12 games at first base with the Tigers. Two years later after a stint in the minor leagues he joined the New York Yankees, and became their starting First Baseman for the next 10 seasons. During that time he was one of the top hitters in the game, and was considered a top home run threat in an era that featured the “deadball”. From 1921 to 1923 he was part of the Yankees American League champion teams, seeing the Yankees lose to the New York Giants in the 1921 and 1922 World Series, and defeating them in 1923 World Series for the franchise’s first championship. The Yankees missed the 1924 post-season, but Wally Pipp still managed to lead the American League in Runs Batted In and Triples. He also scouted players on the Columbia University baseball team, which included Lou Gehrig. Pipp personally recommended to Yankees’ manager Miller Huggins that the team sign Gehrig. In 1925 Pipp and the team were struggling, and on June 2 Huggins replaced Pipp in the lineup with Gehrig. A number of stories surround that famous benching of Pipp, with the most popular being that Pipp had a headache and asked to not play. Gehrig would go on to wrest the starting job from Pipp and begin his famous consecutive games played streak that lasted until May 1939. Wally Pipp would play 62 games in 1925, his lowest total in his eleven seasons with the Yankees. In January 1926 he was sold to the Cincinnati Reds, where he would finish out his playing days in 1928. His career totals were 1,872 Games Played, 1, 1941 Hits, 90 Home Runs, 997 Runs Batted In, and a .281 Batting Average. After his playing days he wrote for “Sports Illustrated” and was a fixture at Old Timers Day games.
Major League Baseball Player. He played Major League baseball for fifteen seasons (1913, 1915 to 1928) as a First Baseman with the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds. He is famously known in baseball history and popular baseball lore as the starting player replaced in the Yankees lineup on June 2, 1925 by future Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig, who would then go on to play in 2,130 consecutive games and become one of the greatest players in Major League history. Wally Pipp’s major league career began in 1913 when he played in 12 games at first base with the Tigers. Two years later after a stint in the minor leagues he joined the New York Yankees, and became their starting First Baseman for the next 10 seasons. During that time he was one of the top hitters in the game, and was considered a top home run threat in an era that featured the “deadball”. From 1921 to 1923 he was part of the Yankees American League champion teams, seeing the Yankees lose to the New York Giants in the 1921 and 1922 World Series, and defeating them in 1923 World Series for the franchise’s first championship. The Yankees missed the 1924 post-season, but Wally Pipp still managed to lead the American League in Runs Batted In and Triples. He also scouted players on the Columbia University baseball team, which included Lou Gehrig. Pipp personally recommended to Yankees’ manager Miller Huggins that the team sign Gehrig. In 1925 Pipp and the team were struggling, and on June 2 Huggins replaced Pipp in the lineup with Gehrig. A number of stories surround that famous benching of Pipp, with the most popular being that Pipp had a headache and asked to not play. Gehrig would go on to wrest the starting job from Pipp and begin his famous consecutive games played streak that lasted until May 1939. Wally Pipp would play 62 games in 1925, his lowest total in his eleven seasons with the Yankees. In January 1926 he was sold to the Cincinnati Reds, where he would finish out his playing days in 1928. His career totals were 1,872 Games Played, 1, 1941 Hits, 90 Home Runs, 997 Runs Batted In, and a .281 Batting Average. After his playing days he wrote for “Sports Illustrated” and was a fixture at Old Timers Day games.
Bio by: RPD2
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