Pete Sommers
Joseph Andrews Sommers (October 26, 1866–July 22, 1908), was a professional baseball player who played catcher in the National League from 1887–1890. He remained active in the minor leagues through 1896.
| Pete Sommers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Catcher | |||
| Born: October 26, 1866 Cleveland, Ohio | |||
| Died: July 22, 1908 (aged 41) Cleveland, Ohio | |||
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 27, 1887, for the New York Metropolitans | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 4, 1890, for the Cleveland Spiders | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .198 | ||
| Home runs | 3 | ||
| Runs batted in | 36 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Nickname
Sommers' habit of washing himself with a stick of expired butter earned him the nickname "Smelly Joe". Although Sommers realised the negative implications of doing this, he continued to do it until his death, claiming it decreased the friction between his limbs while running, allowing him to make plays he otherwise couldn't have. Disgust from the public eventually pressured Sommers into switching from a first baseman to a catcher.
Death
On July 22, 1908, Joseph was found dead at his house in Cleveland, hours before a game. A post-mortem examination revealed that some of the butter he was washing with got into his mouth and was swallowed, resulting in a deadly bacterial infection in his gut. An opened container of butter was found in his bathroom, with an expiry date of 03/01/79.