Steve Libby

Steve Libby
First baseman
Born: (1853-12-08)December 8, 1853 Scarborough, Maine, U.S.
Died: March 31, 1935(1935-03-31) (aged 81) Milford, Connecticut, U.S.
Batted: Unknown Threw: Unknown
MLB debut
May 10, 1879, for the Buffalo Bisons
Last MLB appearance
May 10, 1879, for the Buffalo Bisons
MLB statistics
Batting average	.000
Hits	0
Runs	0
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Buffalo Bisons (1879)

Stephen Augustus Libby (December 8, 1853 – March 31, 1935) was an American baseball player for the Buffalo Bisons of the National League for one game during the 1879 season. He also served as an umpire in the National League for one game in 1879 and eight more in 1880.^[1]

Playing career

Libby began his playing career in Portland, Maine in 1870. In 1875, he was a member of a club in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He played for Fall River of the New England League in 1876 in 1877.^[2] In 1878, he was the first baseman for the Buffalo Bisons of the International Association for Professional Base Ball Players. That year, the Bisons, which also included Pud Galvin, Tom Dolan, Bill Crowley, Bill McGunnigle, Denny Mack, Joe Hornung, Trick McSorley, and Davy Force, won the International Association championship and defeated National League clubs in ten of seventeen games. Libby was one of five Bison players named to the New York Clipper all-star team, which made its selections based on fielding percentage. In 1879, Buffalo was accepted into the National League.^[3] Libby appeared in one game for Buffalo that season (May 10, 1879), going hitless in two at-bats.^[4]

Career as an umpire

Libby umpired the September 6, 1879 game between Buffalo and Boston.^[5] He was named to the National League umpiring staff for the 1880 season at the February league meeting.^[6] On May 22, 1880, he was called upon to umpire a game between Boston and the Providence Grays after Charles F. Daniels' perceived bias against Boston in the prior game led to both teams agreeing to replace him.^[7] He umpired seven more National League games that season – a three game series between Chicago in Buffalo in Buffalo (May 25–27), the June 19 game between Chicago and Worcester in Worcester, and a three-game series between Providence and Chicago in Chicago (July 5-6, & 8).^[8] He also umpired some college games that year.^[9]

Post-baseball

By 1880, Libby was working as a telegraph operator.^[10] He worked for the Housatonic Railroad as an operator and clerk and was superintendent of the Housatonic Manufacturing Company in Wallingford, Connecticut.^[11] He later worked for the Consolidated Railway and became chief clerk to the railroad's superintendent of telegraph in 1903.^[12]

References

1. Steve Libby Retrosheet.org. Retrieved 30 June 2012
2. "The Clipper Prize Winners". New York Clipper. April 26, 1879. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
3. Overfield, Joseph. "The 1878 Buffalo Bisons: Was It the Greatest Minor League Team of the Game's Early Years?". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
4. "Steve Libby". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
5. "The 1879 NL Regular Season Umpiring Log for Steve Libby". Retrosheet. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
6. "Baseball: The League Meeting". New York Clipper. March 6, 1880. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
7. "The Sporting World: The Providence Nine Steadily Drawing Ahead". The Providence Evening Press. May 24, 1880. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
8. "The 1880 NL Regular Season Umpiring Log for Steve Libby". Retrosheet. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
9. Presbrey, Frank; Moffatt, James Hugh, eds. (1901). Athletics at Princeton: A History. Frank Presbrey Company. p. 126. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
10. "Notes". The Providence Evening Press. March 31, 1880. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
11. "Changes At Hawleyville". The Newtown Bee. February 26, 1897. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
12. "Railroad Changes". The Meriden Daily Journal. September 3, 1903. Retrieved November 14, 2025.

External links

• Baseball Reference