Bobby Wallace

Bobby Wallace

Birthdate	11/4/1873
Death Date	11/3/1960
Debut Year	1894
Year of Induction	1953
Teams	Browns, Reds, Spiders
Positions	Manager, Shortstop, Third Base

In 1918 Bobby Wallace played shortstop at 44 years 312 days old. The mark would stand until Omar Vizquel broke it in 2012.

Government postcard postmarked July 8, 1956 with long inscription

Born in 1873, Bobby Wallace made his Major League Debut six years before the turn of the century. Over the next 25 seasons, he would be one of the best shortstops in the big leagues. In the collection is a government postcard dated July 7, 1956, three years after Wallace gained induction into the Ha

Bobby Wallace's solid gold lifetime pass to every MLB game, one of only 17 initially issued.

Roderick John “Bobby” Wallace was part of an elite group of players to receive one of the initial Lifetime Pass made out of gold. Ford Frick awarded these gold passes to players with 20 or more years of MLB service in 1935. Only 17 players were issued such passes, including

Bobby Wallace's NABPL lifetime pass

Bobby Wallace was also awarded this lifetime pass by the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (NABPL). Wallace received this the year after he received the Major League gold lifetime pass. A defensive specialist, Wallace was considered the finest shortstop of his era.

A Story about Bobby Wallace

Lifetime passes were the brainchild of NL President Ford Frick; here’s a pictorial history

June 18th, 2016 Leave a comment

A newspaper man turned league publicist turned league president came up with a brilliant idea in 1934 — reward longtime National League players with a lifetime pass to all NL games. Senior Circuit owners approved Ford Frick’s proposal at the league meeting in December of ’34. A few months later, Frick sent out ornately decorated paper Lifetime Passes to the NL’s greatest players. He even sent one to Babe Ruth who appeared in all of 28 games for the Boston Braves in 1935. A 21-year veteran of the American League, the Babe was grateful if not surprised when he remarked, “At least the National League has a heart”. An image of the original paper pass presented to Hall of Fame outfielder Sliding Billy Hamilton can be seen below. A similar pass curiously issued to Stan Coveleski, a lifetime American Leaguer is also shown. Perhaps shamed by Ruth’s remarks, the American League joined forces in 1936 to issue a pass to all Major League contests. Players with twenty or more years of service received a solid gold pass. Seventeen men qualified for the true “golden ticket” — Ruth, Fred Clarke, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Bill Dahlen, Harry Davis, Red Faber, Walter Johnson, […]