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{{Short description|American baseball player (1870–1943)}}
{{other people||Jim Collins (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Jimmy Collins
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|hoftype = National
|hofdate=[[1945 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1945]]
|hofmethod=
}}
'''James Joseph Collins''' (January 16, 1870 – March 6, 1943) was an [[American people|American]] professional [[baseball]] player. He played 14 seasons in [[Major League Baseball]]. In [[1945 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1945]], Collins was elected to the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]]
Collins was especially regarded for his defense. He was best known for his ability to field a [[Bunt (baseball)|bunt]]—prior to his debut, it was the [[shortstop]] who fielded bunts down the third base line—and is regarded as a pioneer of the modern defensive play of a third baseman. As of 2012, he is second all-time in [[putout]]s by a third baseman behind [[Brooks Robinson]].<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/PO_3b_career.shtml Career Leaders & Records for Putouts as 3B]</ref> At the plate, Collins finished his career with 65 [[home run]]s, 1055 [[run (baseball)|runs scored]], 983 [[run batted in|RBI]] and a .294 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]].<ref name="br" />
Collins was also the first manager of the [[Boston Red Sox]] franchise, then known as the Boston Americans. He was the winning manager in the first
==Early life==
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===Major league debut===
Collins began his major league career as a [[right fielder]], playing ten games at the position with the Beaneaters in 1895. On May 19, 1895, he was loaned to the [[Louisville Colonels]], again for $500.<ref name=br/> He was soon made the team's starting third baseman, batting .279 over the remainder of the season.
===National League star===
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===First World Series===
In 1902, Collins was limited to 108 games by injury, and the Americans finished third.<ref name=sabr/> He did hit the team's first ever inside-the-park grand slam
With an agreement in place for the champions of the American and National Leagues to meet in a best-of-nine "[[World Series]]", Boston represented the Junior Circuit. After losing two out of three at home to start the series, then losing the first game in Pittsburgh, the Americans won the next three in Pittsburgh, then returned home to win Game Eight in Boston to become the first-ever World Series Champions. Collins himself batted .250 in the Series, with a pair of [[triple (baseball)|triple]]s and five [[run (baseball)|runs scored]].
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The Americans won the pennant again in 1904, with Collins batting .271 and leading the league in putouts for the fifth time in eight seasons. However, the Americans would not get the opportunity to defend their title, as [[John McGraw]] and the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] refused to play them in the postseason.
In 1905, the Americans slipped to fourth place, and Collins clashed with team president [[John I. Taylor]], reportedly quitting on the team during the season.<ref name=sportinglife>{{cite news|last=Morse|first=J. C.|title=Manager Jimmy Collins, of the Boston Americans, Again Suspended|url=http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1906/VOL_47_NO_26/SL4726027.pdf|access-date=6 July 2012|newspaper=Sporting Life|date=September 8, 1906}}</ref> As a player, Collins batted .276, but again missed time due to injury. In 1906, Collins found himself in hot water, as not only were the Americans in last, but he himself was suspended twice, and was eventually
Collins began the 1907 season with Boston, but it was only a matter of time before he departed. For reasons that have never become clear, Stahl had committed suicide during [[spring training]];<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/e96a130c |title=Chick Stahl |first=Dennis |last=Auger |website=[[Society for American Baseball Research|SABR]] |access-date=November 3, 2018}}</ref> instead of Collins, the Americans turned to Cy Young as manager, following by [[George Huff (coach)|George Huff]], and then [[Bob Unglaub]], all within the first three months of the season. After playing 41 games with the Americans, Collins was traded to the [[Philadelphia Athletics]] in June for infielder [[John Knight (baseball)|John Knight]]. While he batted .278, he had a career-low (to that point) .330 [[slugging percentage]], and failed to hit a home run for the first time in his career. In 1908, he slumped even further, batting just .217, and was let go.
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[[File:Jimmy Collins HOF.jpg|thumb|upright|right|110px|Collins' plaque at the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]]]]
When Collins was inducted into the Hall of Fame in [[Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1945|1945]], he was the first to be chosen primarily as a third baseman.<ref>[http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/colliji01/bio Jimmy Collins at The Baseball Page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720214804/http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/colliji01/bio |date=2014-07-20 }}</ref> In 1981, [[Lawrence Ritter]] and [[Donald Honig]] included him in their book ''The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time''. Collins became a charter member of the [[Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1985.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.milb.com/team1/page.jsp?ymd=20100224&content_id=8132850&vkey=team1_t422&fext=.jsp&sid=t422|title=Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame|access-date=29 August 2012}}</ref>
==Managerial record==
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==Personal life==
Jimmy Collins married Sarah Murphy in 1907, and the couple had two daughters.<ref name=sabr/> After his retirement from baseball, they moved back to Buffalo, where Collins worked for the Buffalo Parks Department.<ref name=sabr/> Collins died of pneumonia on March 6, 1943, at the age of 73.<ref name=sabr/>
==In popular culture==
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==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{Baseballstats|br=c/colliji01|brm=collin003jam}}
*{{Baseball-reference manager|colliji01}}
*{{bbhof|collins-jimmy}}
*{{sabrbio|7068ba1f|Stan Hamlet|10 July 2013}}
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=APouAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8tsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1954,314015&dq=harry-grayson&hl=en Collins Third Base Stylist; Couldn't Hit Ball Past Him], by [[Harry Grayson]], June 2, 1943
*{{Find a Grave}}
{{1897 Boston Beaneaters}}
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{{1945 Baseball HOF}}
{{Baseball Hall of Fame members}}
{{Boston Red Sox HOF}}
{{Boston Red Sox team captains}}
{{Boston Red Sox managers}}
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[[Category:19th-century baseball players]]
[[Category:St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute alumni]]
[[Category:World
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