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Covington ranks near the top for Kentucky cities producing major league baseball players. There have been nearly two dozen major leaguers born in Covington according to Baseball-Reference.com and verified by the Society of American Baseball Researchers (SABR).
The golden age of Covington-born major leaguers begins near the end of the 1800s and extends into the Dead Ball Era of the early 1900s. Twelve ballplayers from the city started their careers between 1879 and 1921. At no other time were there more major leaguers who hailed from the city. Here is a look at the five most successful major leaguers from that period who were born in Covington, Kentucky.
Joe Sommer: Northern Kentucky’s First Star
Active from 1880-90. Sommer played all nine positions, primarily in left field. He’s widely credited as northern Kentucky’s first major league star. Sommer debuted at age 21 with the Cincinnati Reds with no minor league experience then his career quickly took a turn after just a half season.
At the end of the 1880 campaign, the Reds were expelled from the National League in part for refusing to pledge they’d stop selling beer in the ballpark. After a brief stay in the National League, Sommer was out of baseball. He did not play in 1881. Cincinnati joined the American Association in 1882 and became part of a new major league known popularly as the Beer and Whiskey League. That put Sommer back in the majors and his career took off.
A right-handed hitter, Sommer led the American Association in games played and at-bats in 1882. It was one of the best all-around seasons put together by a Covington-born player. Sommer hit a career-best .288, ninth in the league that year. He was second with 88 runs scored and fourth in hits and fifth in on-base percentage. His batting average was 44 points higher than league average. He led league left fielders in putouts and fielding average. He was eighth in the league in home runs the next season.
Sommer was fifth in the league in doubles in 1885 with the Baltimore Orioles, who he joined in 1884. He and Jimmy Macullar were sent to Baltimore allegedly due to insubordination after they tried to cause the departure of Pop Corkhill and Chick Fulmer from Cincinnati.
Sommer played 920 career games, second-most for a major leaguer from Covington. He finished with a .248 lifetime average, 911 hits, 109 doubles, 42 triples, and 11 home runs, tied for most by a Covington-born player. The triple total is the most. He was a regular starter in Baltimore for six years after leaving Cincinnati. He was recognized for years after his career ended.
“As they gazed upon Joe Sommer at third, their eyes bulged,” said a 1907 Sporting Life account of an old-timers game. “Sommer, one of Cincinnati’s on the Bank Street grounds in 1882, handled himself like a youngster. He hammered out a couple of hits and scored two runs. ‘Why, that boy Sommer was a splendid third baseman over in Covington way back in ‘76. Think of it, 31 years ago!’ declared an onlooker.”
Sommer remained in Covington. His father was an owner of the Central Hotel at Pike and Washington Streets in downtown Covington. Sommer maintained a relationship with the hotel even after the family sold it.
“Joe Sommer was a Kentuckian through and through: born in Covington, raised in Covington, retired to Covington, and buried near Covington,” wrote his SABR biographer. “In order to play professional baseball, he left the Bluegrass State temporarily to ply his trade in large cities, such as Cincinnati, Baltimore, and Cleveland, and in smaller cities like New Haven, Rochester, and Albany, but he always returned to his hometown on the banks of the Ohio.”
Hank Gastright: 30-Game Winner
Active from 1889-96, Gastright is the only 30-game winner hailing from Covington. He played for six major league teams in seven years but caught lightning in a bottle in 1890 while throttling the American Association.
Gastright finished 30-14 with a 2.94 ERA for the Columbus Salons in one of the greatest major league seasons turned in by a Covington-born player. The right-hander ranked second in the league with four shutouts. He ranked third in wins. Gastright ranked fifth in complete games with 41 and fifth in innings pitched with 401.1. He was seventh in both strikeouts and ERA.
Gastright never won more than 15 games in a season after he won 30. He was 15-3 in 1893 and led the National League in winning percentage. He spent his first three seasons in Columbus. His last season was with the Reds.
At his best, he could be unhittable. Gastright had a no-hitter going for eight innings in October 1890 against Toledo before the game was called due to darkness. He pitched a one-hitter in June 1894 against Chicago.
Gastright appeared in 171 games in his career and finished with a 72-63 record and a 4.20 ERA. He piled up at least 200 innings in a season three times. He is one of three Covington-born players pitching at least 1,000 career innings, totaling 1,301.1. Gastright had 11 doubles and eight triples in 544 career at-bats, seventh-most for a Covington player despite being a pitcher.
John Farrell: Good-Hit Utility Man
Active from 1901-05 at second base, shortstop, third base and the outfield. Farrell hit three of his four career home runs as a rookie for Washington of the American League to go with 32 doubles, 11 triples and 25 stolen bases. He then played four years with St. Louis in the National League. Hit .272 in a season twice, including his rookie season.
Farrell, a right-handed hitter, put up three seasons ranking in the top eight in at-bats and two seasons in the top eight in doubles. He ranked fourth in the league in doubles in 1901 and sixth in extra base hits. He was fifth in the league in games played in 1902. Farrell had 25 doubles and eight triples in 1903, while hitting .272. He ranked eighth in doubles in 1904.
Farrell hit .261 lifetime with 567 hits. He had 93 doubles, eight triples and four home runs. He was a good fielder, as well. Farrell ranked fourth in the American League in assists among center fielders in 1901.
Farrell led all National League second basemen in assists in 1902 and was fourth in fielding percentage. He was third in putouts for a second baseman in 1902 and 1903. He was first in range factor in 1903. Farrell led all second baseman in double plays turned three seasons in a row from 1902-04.
Howie Camnitz: Kentucky Rose Bud
Active from 1904-15. He’s perhaps the greatest major league pitcher Covington has produced. Camnitz was a right-handed starting pitcher for three teams, primarily for the Pirates of Pittsburgh, where he was a curve-balling ace. He won 133 career games, the most by any Covington-born pitcher.
From 1909-12 for the Pirates, he won 20 games three times, including a 25-6 record in 1909 with a 1.62 ERA. Camnitz tied for the National League lead that year with an .806 winning percentage. He shut out the Reds on Opening Day. It was the first of a career-high six shutouts that season, ranking fourth in the league.
Nicknamed “Red” and “Kentucky Rosebud” because of his red hair, Camnitz ranked second in the league in wins in 1909. That was a big year for him and the Pirates. Camnitz ranked fourth in ERA in 1908 (1.56) and 1909. He won a World Series with the Pirates in 1909 with Hall of Famer Honus Wagner as a teammate. Camnitz was a voracious reader of newspapers where he would decipher the box scores as a form of scouting.
“I always inspect very closely the box score of the club we are about to meet next,” Camnitz once told a reporter. “My object is to ascertain what players are doing the hitting. Every student of baseball knows that players hit in streaks. If a pitcher has men on bases, and a batsman facing him who has been having a slump in his hitting, he can take a chance on letting him line it out. On the contrary, if a player comes up who has been clouting the ball, it may be the safest plan to let him walk.”
Camnitz made 326 career appearances including 237 starts and posted a 2.75 ERA in 2,085.1 innings pitched, the best numbers for a Covington-born starting pitcher. He hurled at least 200 innings in a season seven times. Camnitz tossed 20 career shutouts. He struck out 915 batters, ranking among the league’s top 10 five times. Camnitz was versatile, ranking in the league top 10 six times in saves. He received one Hall of Fame vote in 1945.
His major league brother, Harry Camnitz, was three years younger and born in McKinney, Kentucky. Harry Camnitz appeared in three games lifetime with a 1-0 record. He pitched eight years in the minor leagues and won 99 games including a 27-9 mark at McKeesport in 1909, the same year Howie won 25 games for the Pirates. Both brothers attended Centre College.
Bill Sweeney: Sweet Swinger
Active from 1907-14, Sweeney played primarily at second base for two teams. He is perhaps the greatest major league hitter Covington has ever produced. Sweeney received MVP votes in 1911, 1912 and 1913 for the National League Boston Doves. He ranked sixth in voting in 1912.
A right-handed hitter, Sweeney hit .314 in 1911 and had a 26-game hitting streak. He ranked third in the league with a .344 batting average in 1912 with 99 RBI and 27 steals. He collected 201 hits that year, including 31 doubles and 13 triples, in a league-leading 699 plate appearances. It’s arguably the greatest hitting season by a player born in Covington.
Sweeney was 21 years old when he began his career with the Cubs as a backup behind the famed Tinkers to Evers to Chance double-play combination. He ended his career with the Cubs after getting traded for Johnny Evers in 1914.
His easy-going personality preceded him to the majors. At minor league stop Rock Island, where he was team captain in 1905, he had a reputation as “one of the most popular and consistent players that was ever connected with the local team.” wrote a local scribe. “He’s one of those players who is in the game for the love of it,”
Sweeney’s best years were in Boston, where he ranked seventh in the league with five home runs in 1910 after switching to a heavier bat. He appeared in 1,039 career games, collecting 1,004 hits, including 153 doubles, 388 RBI and 172 stolen bases. He had a .272 lifetime batting average. Those are the best career figures for any player originally from Covington. His 11 lifetime home runs are in a tie for the most by a Covington player and his 40 triples are second-most. Sweeney received one Hall of Fame vote in 1945.