Art Croft

Art Croft
First baseman/Left fielder
Born: (1855-01-23)January 23, 1855 St. Louis, Missouri
Died: St. Louis, Missouri
Batted: Unknown Threw: Unknown
MLB debut
May 5, 1875, for the St. Louis Red Stockings
Last MLB appearance
September 13, 1878, for the Indianapolis Blues
MLB statistics
Games played	133
Runs scored	50
Batting average	.195
Teams
St. Louis Red Stockings (1875) St. Louis Brown Stockings (1877) Indianapolis Blues (1878)

Arthur F. "Art" Croft (January 23, 1855 – March 16, 1884) was an American Major League Baseball player. He played for three teams during three-year professional and Major League career.

Career

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Croft began his professional career in 1875 when he joined the St. Louis Red Stockings of the National Association. He played in 19 games that season, all of which he played in the outfield, and batted .200 in 75 at bats.

His next season, in 1877, when he joined the St. Louis Brown Stockings of the National League, and played in 54 of the team's 60 games. He split his playing time between first base and left field, and hit a career high .232, while scoring 23 runs, and had 27 RBIs.

The following season, 1878, Croft joined the Indianapolis Blues, also of the National League, his last season in the Major Leagues. He played in all 60 of the team's games as the starting first baseman. He batted .158 in 222 at bats, and scored 22 runs.

Croft finished his three-year career with a .195 batting average in 139 games, scored 50 runs, 45 RBIs, and hit 14 doubles. He died in St. Louis at the age of 29 of Typhoid Pneumonia, and is interred at Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
• Art Croft obituary - The New York Times, March 17, 1884