George Ely: The One-Armed Wonder

From 1907 to 1910, George Ely was one of the best semi-pro second baseman in Southern California. A slick fielder, he hit for both average and power, and had a knack for making clutch hits. He also had no right arm. 

1909

Ely was a telegraph operator for the Salt Lake Railroad. He was born George Alphonso Ely in Glendale, California, April 29, 1888. When a young child, he lost his right arm falling between the wheels of a cart. 

Instead of letting his lack of an arm keep him from a baseball career, he became the oddest kind of player I've ever seen: a one-armed left-handed second baseman 

The last left-handed second baseman to play regularly in professional baseball was "Kid" Mohler, who still holds the all-time record for pro games played at second base, with a mark of 2871. 

I also think it's possible George Ely played without a glove, at least for part of his career. 

 The 1909 picture of him, shown above, depicts him wearing a glove and no one ever mentioned that he didn't, but I think he might have from two different newspaper accounts.

The Santa Rosa Republican, August 04, 1905, p.4:

"When not playing in the box the one-armed wonder is still more spectacular in the outfield, where he has not made an error during the season. It is marvellous [sic] to see him trap the falling ball between his empty sleeve, his breast, and his left hand. No drive is too hard for him to tackle and hold." 

He tackled fly balls between his chest, sleeve, and hand - he didn't catch them. 

The Corning Daily Observer, November 12, 1908, p.3:

    "Ely thinks that a one-armed man, while handicapped to a certain degree, should be as good a player as one with both arms. He says that a man loses time transferring the ball from his right to left hand, which he would not do if he caught and threw the ball with the same hand." 

A one-armed player wearing a glove loses more time than a two-armed player, as evidenced by Pete Gray. 

Ely may have bypassed that by not wearing a glove, and I'm highly intrigued by the possibility. The newspaper accounts really do make it sound like he didn't wear a glove, and his posing with a glove is not proof that he played with a glove for his whole career, or even at all. It's hard to solve ambiguities like this from the distance of 115 years. 

He didn't let his handicap get in the way at the plate, either. Lefty Gervais, who pitched five games for the Boston Braves in 1913, recalled in 1948 that "Ely used the stub of his right arm, cut off at the elbow, to steady the bat at the plate and then developed a very powerful swing when he met the ball using only the left hand and arm." 

His amateur career can be traced as far back as 1903, when he was only 15. By 1905, he was a star pitcher and outfielder for Los Angeles High School, and had already received pro offers. His batting heroics had also begun. On July 9, pitching for the Johnson Machine Works team, he homered and won 5-3. On July 23, playing for the Forest Heights team of L.A., he hit three triples in a 12-6 win. Forest Heights' pitcher, Andy Briswalter, would go on to pitch for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League from 1908 to 1910, winning 31 games and losing 24.

1905

In 1906 he pitched for the Dyas-Cline sporting goods team. He had converted to second base by 1907, and was playing with the Thistles of the Southern California League. On October 13, 1907, Walter McCredie, the manager of the Portland Beavers, took a day off to watch the Thistles play Santa Monica. McCredie was impressed by Ely, but didn't make him an offer because of his handicap. 

In 1908 he played for the Salt Lakes of the Southern State League, and tied for the team-lead in batting average with a .333 mark in 69 at-bats and 16 games. A teammate of his with the Salt Lakes, Whitey Hensling, was a pitcher and third-baseman in the minor leagues for eight years. 

The Los Angeles Herald, 1908-6-27, p.7: 

George Ely, the one-arm baseball player, is just as good playing pool as he is on the diamond. In a game last night at McCormick's, Ely gave cards and spades to the captain and came through with the fifteen ball every time. 

Not sure what that means, exactly, but it does sound impressive. Merriam-Webster defines the phrase "cards and spades" as "a liberal handicap", as in "could give him cards and spades and still beat him at his own game." I had never seen that phrase before. 

In August 1908 he turned down an offer to play for the Santa Cruz Sandcrabs of the outlaw California State League - why, I am not exactly sure. 

Over the winter of 1908-09 he played with the Salt Lakes/Maiers in the California Winter League, and on November 2nd he turned an unassisted double play. It appears that the Maiers were the exact same team as the Salt Lakes, but were sponsored by Edward Maier, owner of the Vernon Tigers and Maier Beer.

On January 18, playing for the Maiers in a game against the Azusas, with Harry Lelande, president of the PCL, Edward Maier, and Hap Hogan, the Vernon Tigers' catcher, all in attendance, Ely doubled, scored the only run of the 1-0 game, and made an outstanding fielding play when he "ran thirty yards backwards after a fly ball and received considerable applause when he grabbed it safely." The PCL spectators thought of recommending him for the PCL, but nothing ever come of it. The Maiers' pitcher, Elmer Rieger, pitched a few games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1910 and won 119 minor league games in a career which he spent mostly in the Pacific Coast League and American Association.

    

The Maiers finished in third place in the California Winter League. Note: the caption says it's listing the players from left to right, but is actually listing them from right to left. 

He spent a few months starring for Caldwell, Idaho in 1909.

The Caldwell Tribune, May 01, 1905, p.5:

"The baseball season opened Sunday... When the game ended the score stood nine to one in favor of Caldwell. Ely, the one-armed wonder, made more than good; he now hails from Caldwell."

He continued to play with the Maiers on his return to California. They won the California Summer League pennant, and as of September 30 had won 31 of their last 37 games. 

On April 24, 1910, playing for the Dyas-Cline club against the Los Angeles Grays, a black club, he smote a walk-off double in the bottom of the 10th to win the game 5-4. 

He was at second base for the Doyles, February 19, 1911, and did good work. The Doyles' pitcher, Oscar Jones, won 44 games for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1903 to 1905, and won 226 minor league games. He was not in pro ball in 1912, but would win 24 games against eight losses for the Stockton Producers of the now class-D California State League in 1913. 

Ely broke his leg later in the year, and a benefit game was played for him at Vernon on December 16. Hap Hogan acted as umpire. 

I can only find one more record of him playing after that, but his career disappeared with a bang:  on April 21, 1912, for the Venice Ship Cafe club, he turned a sensational double play in the ninth inning and won the game with a walk-off triple in the bottom of the 10th. 

He continued to work as a telegraph operator. In 1918 he was working for the Salt Lake Railroad, as he had during his career, but by the 1940s he was working for the Union Pacific Railway.

He died June 25, 1967, in Newport Beach, California, at 79. 

George Ely's career was brief and he is now long-forgotten, but he deserves to be remembered. Though he was one-armed, he was no novelty player. He was a very good hitter and fielder in difficult semi-pro competition. Many of his teammates and opponents played in the minors and majors. He received pro offers, and would have received more if he had two arms. 

I hope to bring him back from obscurity with this post, at least in a small way.