COUDERSPORT – One of the most amazing feats in professional
sports history is being recalled this year, with a special
spotlight on Potter County native Fielder Jones.

A clever, fiery player-manager, Jones rose from the backyard
ball diamonds of Shinglehouse to pilot the 1906 Chicago White Sox
to a world championship. It was one of the most stunning upsets in
World Series history.

A century later, the media in Chicago and elsewhere are
revisiting the Cinderella story of Fielder Jones and his “Hitless
Wonders.”

They startled the baseball world by beating the powerful Chicago
Cubs – the winningest team in baseball history – with a squad that
limped through the regular season with an anemic .230 batting
average and only seven home runs.

Much of the credit went to their field general.

The aptly-named Fielder Allison Jones was born in Shinglehouse
on Aug. 13, 1871. Job demands took him to the Pacific Northwest,
where he landed his first professional baseball job was as a
20-year-old catcher and outfielder for Portland in the Oregon State
League.

Later, Jones signed a professional contract with Corning, N.Y.
He moved on to Binghamton, N.Y., and Springfield, Mass. Scouts from
the Brooklyn Superbos (later the Dodgers) recognized Jones’ talent
and inked the 24-year-old in 1896.

In his first season, Jones hit .354, one of the highest marks of
any major league rookie. For the next nine years, Jones would hit
below .300 just once. He also ranked among league leaders in walks,
stolen bases, doubles, triples, runs scored and outfield
assists.

Fielder Jones could hit for power, bunt and spray the ball to
all fields. He was arguably one of the best centerfielders of all
time – with quickness, style and a powerful arm.

During the off seasons, he lived in Bolivar, N.Y., with his
wife, the former Mabel Schaney, and young son Cecil.ð

Jones joined the Chicago White Sox in 1901, the inaugural season
for the American League. He was later tabbed to manage the team,
setting the stage for the miracle of 1906.

Legendary manager Connie Mack and his Philadelphia Athletics
prepared to defend their American League championship, but he met
his match in Fielder Jones.

Jones knew how to make the most out of the least. He was an
inspirational leader who took advantage of his opponents’
weaknesses. A respected strategist, Jones knew the rulebook inside
and out.

He was a master of what’s now called “small ball,” resulting in
close, low-scoring games. A typical White Sox rally was a walk,
stolen base, bunt and a sacrifice fly. Jones shifted and juggled
his talented pitchers with great skill while emphasizing
conditioning and defense.

The White Sox, beset with injuries and personnel problems,
started the year slowly but rallied to win the A.L. pennant.

Chicago led the league in walks, hit batsmen and sacrifice
bunts. The team was second in fielding percentage and the White Sox
pitchers’ earned run average was a microscopic 1.52, with 32
shutouts.

The “subway series” of 1906 was a classic David vs. Goliath
match. Manager Frank Chance’s Chicago Cubs waltzed through the
Senior Circuit with an all-time record 116 wins, including a 50-8
finish.

Amid periodic snow flurries at the Cubs’ West Side Park, the Sox
prevailed 2-1 in Game One. The Cubs evened the series the next day.
The teams split the next two games, putting the series at 2-2,
before the White Sox offense came to life to clinch the series with
back-to-back wins.

Jones was offended when sportswriters called the World Series
championship a fluke.

“This was a great team that a manager could depend on,” he said.
“Their batting was light, but they hit at the right time. Every man
knew his business. We won games because these were good
ballplayers, and a good ballplayer can’t be manufactured out of
batting averages.”

Jones left pro baseball after the 1908 season. He had tired of
the bitter disputes between underpaid players and their spendthrift
owners, epitomized by the White Sox’s own Charles Comiskey. Family
records made public only recently revealed that he had also been
diagnosed with a heart ailment and advised by his doctor to avoid
stress.

He moved his family to Portland, Ore., where he invested in real
estate, timber, orchards and a hotel. He was soon named baseball
coach at Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University),
guiding the team to its first conference championship.

Baseball continued to beckon and, in 1910 at age 39, Jones
returned to action as a member of the Class D Chehalis team. He led
the league in hits and batting average (.359) as Chehalis won the
Washington State League championship.

In 1914, with his business interests struggling, Jones was
enticed back to the big time as part-owner and manager of the St.
Louis franchise in the shortlived Federal League. The Terriers
responded to Jones’ leadership in 1915, coming less than a
percentage point of the league title.

After Federal League folded, Jones became part-owner and manager
of the feckless St. Louis Browns of the American League. He argued
with his lethargic players almost as much as he did with the
umpires. Jones resigned from the Browns during the 1918 season.

Jones lived the rest of life in Portland, managing his business
interests, and raising his granddaughter. He was a regular at the
ballpark, occasionally scouting talent for the Detroit Tigers.
Known to his friends as “Fee,” he played golf, billiards, checkers
and poker.

Jones died of a heart attack at age 62 on March 13, 1934. His
New York Times obituary ranked him with John McGraw and Connie Mack
as “one of the three greatest baseball managers.”