Baseball History: Remembering Charlie Snow

Charlie Snow played for just three innings in his one major league game back in 1874. However, it was one of the more unique appearances in baseball history.

Over the course of baseball history, there have been 972 players to make just a single appearance in the majors. These appearances have run the gamut from being a complete disaster to being tantalizingly good. Yet, of all the players to appear in just that one career game, no player may have had such polar opposites as Charlie Snow, who was born on this day in 1849.

Snow’s career in the majors did not even last for a full game, as he played just three innings for the Brooklyn Atlantics in the National Association. At 25 years old, Snow was pressed into service as a catcher, getting his chance in what is considered to be the first major league.

His career was truly a case of total opposites. Snow had just one plate appearance, but made that time with the bat count. he rapped a single, giving him a perfect 1.000 batting average. He became one of the few players to get a hit in his only at bat, as well as the first player in major league history with that distinction.

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Snow was also remarkable defensively, albeit for a different reason. A catcher at a time when backstops did not have any protection, they were routinely battered by foul tips and errant pitches. Nat Hicks of the New York Mutuals had nearly lost an eye the year prior due to a foul ball. Protective gear, such as the facemask and a padded mitt, were years away. Perhaps it is not much of a surprise that he made an error in each of his three chances behind the plate, giving him a career .000 fielding percentage.

It is quite the remarkable contrast. Snow was perfect as a hitter, yet utterly horrendous defensively. Those issues behind the plate may well explain why he never appeared again in the majors, despite his getting a hit in his only opportunity.

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Charlie Snow had one of the more unique one game careers in baseball history. His was a career of complete contrasts, as he was perfect with the bat and unable to find success in the field.