Topsy Hartsel, Baseball Great

Did you know that one of Major League Baseball's greats was born in tiny Polk, Ohio – the little blink-and-you-miss-it village on State Route 89 in Ashland County, south of US 224? Topsy Hartsel of the Philadelphia Athletics was born there in 1875.

I wasn't aware of it either until I read the following account in Looking Back on Lorain County by Ernie Henes, which should be of interest to baseball fans. Hartsel's achievements in professional baseball shouldn't be forgotten, and I present Mr. Henes' informative article here in the hopes of spurring some local interest.

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Topsy Hartsel, One of Baseball’s Greats

Lorain County has given baseball several outstanding players, but few if any as colorful as Tully Frederick (Topsy) Hartsel (1875-1944), an 1895 graduate of Wellington High School. One of baseball’s most diminutive stars (he was only five feet, four inches tall and weighed 125 pounds), he was one of the best bunters in baseball. A superb leadoff man, he was unusually fast in getting down to first, and he could also whack the ball when he took a toe hold at a fast pitch.

His professional career started in 1898 with the Louisville club where he attracted attention by batting .324. In 1900 he was with the Cincinnati Nationals and hit .335. From 1902-11 he was with Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics.

In his very first year with the A’s he won the hearts of Philadelphia fans by batting .283 and leading the league in runs scored (109), bases on balls (87), and stolen bases (47). He had a lifetime record of 837 bases on balls and led the league in this department in five of the 10 years he was with the A’s. An outfielder throughout his 14-year career, he played in 1,354 games, was at bat 4,843 times, garnering 1,335 hits for a lifetime average of .276.

Clifford Kachline, librarian of the National Baseball Library at Cooperstown N.Y., reported on June 30, 1975: “As far as records go, he still shares the record for the most putouts in left field in a nine-inning game at 11. He performed this feat on Sept. 10, 1901.

Hartsel played a prominent role in winning the A’s first American League pennant in 1902, and according to Connie Mack “was the man who won our fifth and final World Series game from the Chicago Cubs in 1910. Hartsel was on the bench in the first three games, which we won. In the fourth the Cubs beat us 4-3 in 12 innings. For the fifth game I decided to bring Hartsel back into the game and put him in his customary leadoff position. Well, Topsy played with every bit of dash and fire that he showed in earlier years. He came up five times, scored twice, got a hit and stole two bases. He actually bewildered the Cubs by his play. It was a great showing for a man who was through as a regular.”

Hartsel also played a lead role in one of the longest games in American League History, the 24-inning victory of the Athletics in 1906 over the Boston Red Sox. He finished his baseball career as manager of the Toledo Mudhens.