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Luke Appling
Lucius Benjamin Appling
Born: April 2, 1907 in High Point, Ga.
Died: Jan. 3, 1991 in Cumming, Ga.
Debut: 1930 | Pos: SS
Ht: 5'10" | Wt: 183 | B: R | T: R
| Yrs | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | SB | BA |
| 20 | 2422 | 8856 | 1319 | 2749 | 45 | 1116 | 179 | .310 |
>> Visit the Luke Appling biography on Baseball Almanac for complete statistics.
Luke Appling was voted the greatest player of his franchise, the Chicago White Sox, twice by the team's fans. He spent 20 years in major league baseball, all of them with the White Sox.
He almost, however, became a Cub. Appling was playing for the Atlanta Crackers when the Cubs purchased his contract in 1930. The White Sox were able to work out a cash deal that brought the future Hall of Famer to the White Sox for outfielder Doug Taitt.
His defensive skills, however, were unpolished and some in the organization wanted to trade him away. However, he was the best alternative the White Sox had and quickly blossomed into a defensive star. In his fourth season, he started a straight of eight consecutive years of leading AL shortstops in fielding.
Under the leadership of manager Jimmy Dykes, Appling became one of the best shortstops and hitters in the game. He won the league batting title twice. He passed the .300 mark 14 times during his career.
Opposing pitchers might not have been as happy with Appling's skills. Appling earned a reputation for being a tough out and he frequently fouled off balls until he got the pitch he wanted. During a game at Washington's Griffith Stadium, Appling fouled off 16 straight pitches.
In 1936, he hit a career high of .388 and beat out Cleveland's Earl Averill for the batting title. He won a second batting title in 1943 with a .328 average.
He played everyday, but was said to complain constantly about various ailments. Teammates gave him the nickname "Old Aches & Pains." The only serious injury in his career came in 1938 when he broke his leg. In fact, he was durable throughout his career and even started at shortstop at the age of 42.
After his playing career, he was involved in a strange trade between Cleveland and Detroit. The two teams swapped managers and coaches, including Appling. Later, he worked with the Braves as a hitting instructor.
He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1964 by the baseball writers.
In 1984, Appling participated in the Cracker Jack All-Star Game of Old Timers at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. Appling, 77, hit a home run off Warren Spahn.