Lou Criger

Louis Criger (February 3, 1872 in Elkhart, Indiana – May 14, 1934 in Tucson, Arizona) was a Major League Baseball player for the Cleveland Spiders (1896–1898), St. Louis Cardinals (1899–1900), Boston Americans/Red Sox (1901–1908), St. Louis Browns (1909, 1912), and the New York Highlanders (1910). Criger became the first Opening Day catcher in Boston American League franchise's history. A catcher for most of Cy Young's 511 victories, he also caught every inning for eight games with Boston in the first-ever World Series in 1903, helping his team win the championship. In a 16-season career, he batted .221 with 11 home runs and 342 RBIs. Criger stole 58 career bases and scored 337 runs. He had 709 career hits in 3202 at bats. Though never a major star, Criger received votes for the Hall of Fame in four BBWAA elections. He garnered as much as eight percent of the vote.