Luke Appling
Benjamin Lucius " Luke" Appling ( born April 2, 1907 in High Point, North Carolina; † January 3, 1991 in Cumming, Georgia ) was an American baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball. His nickname was Old Aches and Pains and Luscious Luke.
Biography
Luke Appling made his debut in the American League for the Chicago White Sox on September 10, 1930. The shortstop played previously with the Atlanta Crackers in minor league baseball and was almost sold to the Chicago Cubs from there in the summer of 1930, but then it ended with the White Sox, where he was to spend his entire career.
His best career year had Appling 1936. At a stroke average of 38.8 % he was the best batsman of the American League. 124 RBI, 203 base hits and 111 runs were this year also to his credit. With one Basehit in 27 consecutive games, he set a still valid today for the White Sox record. His second title as a hitter he won in 1943 with a batting average of 32.8 %. Seven times he participated in the MLB All- Star Game. Despite his 20 seasons, he could not win a title with the White Sox. He set many records on the defense for shortstops, all of which were later broken by Luis Aparicio. His last game he played on October 1, 1950.
Nicknamed Old Aches and Pains he got from his teammates, because he bugged them every day with messages about small Wehleidigkeiten. A severe knee injury he retired only in 1938 with a broken leg.
After his playing career Appling worked most of the time in the minor leagues as a manager. In 1952 he was voted Baseball Manager of the Year in the Minor League. In the Major League him a manager performance was only indulged in 1967, when he replaced Alvin Dark at the Kansas City Athletics and the team looked after in the last 60 games of the season.
1964 Luke Appling was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1991, he died at the age of 83 years.