Cliff Heathcote was a dependable outfielder for much of the 1920's whose play, unfortunately, was overshadowed by more famous teammates. Underrated in his day, Heathcote passed away at the age of 40 and has been largely forgotten since.
Born on January 24, 1898, in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, Heatchote played semi-pro ball and enrolled at Penn State University. Upon graduation, Cliff broke in with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1918 and displayed potential with his bat the next two seasons, batting .279 and .284. On June 13, 1918, he hit for the cycle in a 19-inning, 8-8 marathon with the Phillies that was called due to darkness.
Nevertheless, Heathcote's tenure in a Cardinal uniform was largely unhappy. The Redbird fans had dubbed him “Rubberhead” over a fielding mishap committed as a rookie. Reminiscent of Jose Canseco 75 years later, Heathcote lost a fly ball in the sun and it bounced off of his head. The fans never let him live it down, taunting him whenever he took the field.
On May 30, 1922, the Cardinals were in Chicago for a morning-afternoon doubleheader with the Cubs. In the morning contest, Cliff had gone hitless in a 4-1 loss to the Cubs. He then wept openly in the clubhouse when he learned that he had been traded to the Cubs between games for outfielder Max Flack.
Heathcote regained his composure quickly, however, collecting a pair of hits in the second game as the Cubs defeated St. Louis, 4-2. It was the only time in major league history that players in the same game were exchanged between games of a doubleheader.
His greatest day at the plate came on August 25, 1922, when the Cubs defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 26-23 in the highest scoring game in major league history. As the Cub hitting star, Cliff was 5 for 5, including two doubles, five runs and four RBI.
Heathcote remained the Cubs' regular right fielder for the majority of the 1920's. He enjoyed his best season in 1924, when he hit .309. A good baserunner, he stole 32 bases in 1923 and 26 the year after. His speed also enabled him to beat out many infield rollers and sacrifice bunts.
He was not a power hitter, and many of the home runs he hit were inside the park. As a glove man, Cliff was both a good judge of a fly ball and a strong thrower. In 1926, his .985 fielding average and eight double plays were tops among National League outfielders.
By 1928, the famous outfield Kiki Cuyler, Hack Wilson and Riggs Stephenson had become firmly established, and Heathcote was relegated to bench duty. He continued to perform well, contributing a .313 average in 82 games, as the Cubs won the National League pennant in 1929. In his only World Series appearance as a pinch-hitter, he struck out against the Philadelphia Athletics' Howard Ehmke in Game One.
Cliff was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1931 for cash and sold again to the Philadelphia Phillies where he finished his career in 1932.
Heathcote played in 1,415 games, collected 1,222 hits and batted .275 in a 15-year career. He died on January 19, 1939 in York, Pennsylvania, five days short of his 41st birthday.
(Majority of this information credited to The Golden Era Cubs by Eddie Gold and Art Ahrens.)
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