Edit The Record Book A 9 Year Old Played Professional Baseball

It isn’t true.

A 9-year-old appeared in a Class B game on June 25, 1904. Concord traveled to Lowell with only 10 active players that day. Its second baseman fell ill and its center fielder was ejected. Concord was left with eight players and desperation.

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The manager brought in 9-year-old “team mascot” George Diggins to play right field. No balls were hit his way. The overmatched kid struck out in his only at bat. 

The next day’s Concord Evening Standard was unimpressed by the stunt.

“George is a right clever kid and some day will be a great ball player, but, of course, it made a farce of the game for him to play,” the newspaper opined in its game story.

Diggins’ unplanned debut earned him a baseball-reference page and a childish piece of baseball history. It’s time to update the trivia books. 

Tim Hagerty is the broadcaster for the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas, and is on Twitter at @MinorsTeamNames. He is also the author of “Root for the Home Team: Minor League Baseball’s Most Off-the-Wall Team Names.”