Bibb Falk

Bibb Falk
Left fielder
Born: (1899-01-27)January 27, 1899
Austin, Texas, U.S.
Died: June 8, 1989(1989-06-08) (aged 90)
Austin, Texas, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
July 17, 1920, for the Chicago White Sox
Last MLB appearance
September 23, 1931, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics
Batting average.314
Home runs69
Runs batted in784
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
As player

As coach

Coaching career
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Baseball
1940–1942Texas
1946–1967Texas
Head coaching record
Overall434–152–10
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
College Baseball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2007

Bibb August Falk (January 27, 1899 – June 8, 1989) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox (1920–28) and Cleveland Indians (1929–31).

Born in Austin, Texas, Falk played football and baseball at the University of Texas before signing with the White Sox in 1920. He was a spare outfielder with the Sox until news of the 1919 Black Sox scandal broke and eight players were suspended; Falk replaced Shoeless Joe Jackson in left field. Falk was a consistent hitter, ending his career after twelve seasons with a .314 career batting average. He was also known as a heady player whose merciless riding of opponents earned him the nickname "Jockey." His best season was in 1926 with the White Sox; he had a .345 batting average, 43 doubles, and 108 runs batted in, and finished 12th in the MVP voting that year.[1] After the 1928 season, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Chick Autry, and played three more seasons in the major leagues before retiring as a player and becoming a coach.

In 1353 games over 12 seasons, Falk posted a .314 batting average (1463-for-4652) with 655 runs, 300 doubles, 59 triples, 69 home runs, 784 RBI, 47 stolen bases, 412 bases on balls, .372 on-base percentage and .449 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .967 fielding percentage playing at left and right field.[2]

After Major League coaching stints with the Indians (1933) and Boston Red Sox (1934), Falk coached baseball at the University of Texas from 1940 to 1942, then again from 1946 to 1967, winning consecutive College World Series titles in 1949 and 1950. In 1975, the new Disch-Falk Field at the University of Texas was named in honor of Falk and his former coach, Billy Disch. He died at age 90 in Austin.[3]

Head coaching record

College baseball

The records shown below are only the collegiate record, not the overall record against not collegiate teams.

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Texas Longhorns[4] (Southwest Conference) (1940–1942)
1940 Texas 15–4 14–1 1st
1941 Texas 14–3 12–3 1st
1942 Texas 11–4 9–4 2nd
Texas Longhorns (Southwest Conference) (1946–1967)
1946 Texas 19–2 14–0 1st
1947 Texas 19–2 14–1 1st NCAA District tournament
1948 Texas 18–1 13–1 1st
1949 Texas 22–4 12–3 1st College World Series champions
1950 Texas 24–4 14–1 1st College World Series champions
1951 Texas 15–4 11–4 T–1st
1952 Texas 19–9 11–4 1st College World Series
1953 Texas 24–7–1 12–3–1 T–1st College World Series Runner–Up
1954 Texas 15–7–2 10–2–1 1st NCAA District tournament
1955 Texas 10–13–1 7–8–1 T–3rd
1956 Texas 5–13 3–11 6th
1957 Texas 19–5 12–1 1st College World Series
1958 Texas 18–7 13–2 1st NCAA District tournament
1959 Texas 13–7 9–5 2nd
1960 Texas 19–3 13–2 1st NCAA District tournament
1961 Texas 20–5–2 11–3–2 1st College World Series
1962 Texas 22–7 12–2 1st College World Series
1963 Texas 21–7–1 12–3 T–1st College World Series
1964 Texas 16–7–1 10–5–1 T–2nd
1965 Texas 18–7 11–4 1st College World Series
1966 Texas 21–9–2 9–6 T–1st College World Series
1967 Texas 17–11 10–5 T–1st NCAA District tournament
Texas: 434–152–10 (.737) 276–84–7 (.762)
Total: 434–152–10 (.737)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Managerial record

Team Year Regular season Postseason
Games Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
CLE 1933 1 1 0 1.000 interim
Total 1 1 0 1.000 0 0

References

  1. ^ "Bibb Falk Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  2. ^ "Bibb Falk career statistics at Baseball Reference". Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  3. ^ Bibb Falk dies at 90
  4. ^ "Texas Baseball History 2018 Fact Book" (PDF). Texas Sports. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2019.