One of the game's first true base-stealing stars, Max Carey played center field for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1910 to 1926 and for the Brooklyn Robins from 1926 to 1929. During his career, he led the National League in stolen bases 10 times and finished with 738 swipes, an NL record until 1974 and still the 9th-highest total in Major League history. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1961 by the Veterans Committee.
I completed this sketch card in August 2012.
10 random facts about Max Carey:
- He was born as Maximillian George Carnarius and adopted the name Max Carey when he played his first pro baseball game; the name would stick with him for his entire career.
- A durable player, Carey had only one season in which he played fewer than 108 games- an injury-plagued 1919.
- In 1922 he stole 51 bases and was caught only twice.
- He stole home 33 times in his career, second-best only to Ty Cobb's 50 on the all-time list.
- An excellent fielder, he retired holding a Major League record of 6 seasons with over 400 putouts, including a remarkable 450 in 1923.
- Carey led the Pirates to victory in the 1925 World Series, batting .458 with 11 hits and 3 stolen bases.
- Following his big league career, he co-owned a baseball school in Ft. Lauderdale and toured Japan with an amateur team.
- Carey managed the Milwaukee Chicks and the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1944, and served as the league's president until 1950.
- According to a letter from his wife in his Hall of Fame file, Carey was the first player to use flip-down sunglasses in the outfield.
- Carey invested heavily in Florida real estate, and lost over $100,000 in the stock market crash of 1929.
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