Sam Rice
Edgar Charles "
Sam"
Rice (February 20, 1890 – October 13, 1974) was an American
pitcher and
outfielder in
Major League Baseball. Although Rice made his debut as a
relief pitcher, he is best known as an outfielder. Playing for the
Washington Senators from until , he was regularly among the
American League leaders in
runs scored,
hits,
stolen bases and
batting average. He led the Senators to three postseasons and a
World Series championship in
1924. He batted left-handed but threw right-handed. Rice played his final year, , for the
Cleveland Indians. He was elected to the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1963.
Rice was best known for making a controversial catch in the
1925 World Series which carried him over the fence and into the stands. While he was alive, Rice maintained a sense of mystery around the catch, which had been ruled an out. He wrote a letter that was only opened after his 1974 death; it claimed that he had maintained possession of the ball the entire time. He collected nearly 3,000 hits in his career, with his 2,889 as a Senator being the most in franchise history.
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