{{Short description|American baseball player (1904–1993)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography | name = Mark Koenig | image = Mark Koenig 1928.jpg | caption = Koenig, {{circa|1928}} | position = Shortstop | bats = Switch | throws = Right | birth_date = {{Birth date|1904|7|19}} | birth_place = San Francisco, California, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1993|4|22|1904|7|19}} | death_place = Willows, California, U.S. | debutleague = MLB | debutdate = September 8 | debutyear = 1925 | debutteam = New York Yankees | finalleague = MLB | finaldate = September 27 | finalyear = 1936 | finalteam = New York Giants | statleague = MLB | stat1label = Batting average | stat1value = .279 | stat2label = Hits | stat2value = 1,190 | stat3label = Runs batted in | stat3value = 446 | teams = * New York Yankees ({{Baseball year|1925}}–{{Baseball year|1930}}) * Detroit Tigers ({{Baseball year|1930}}–{{Baseball year|1931}}) * Chicago Cubs ({{Baseball year|1932}}–{{Baseball year|1933}}) * Cincinnati Reds ({{Baseball year|1934}}) * New York Giants ({{Baseball year|1935}}–{{Baseball year|1936}}) | highlights = * 2× World Series champion ({{wsy|1927}}, {{wsy|1928}}) }} '''Mark Anthony Koenig''' (July 19, 1904 – April 22, 1993) was an American baseball shortstop who played twelve seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played with the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants from 1925 to 1936. A switch hitter who threw right-handed, he was listed at {{convert|6|ft|0|in}} and {{convert|180|lbs}}. Although primarily playing as a shortstop, Koenig was utilized at both second base and third base as well.

Koenig played minor league baseball with four different teams until May 1925, when he signed with the New York Yankees. After making his debut in September 1925 and spending five seasons with the Yankees, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers, where he spent the next two seasons. He subsequently joined the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds via trades in 1932 and 1934, respectively, and was finally traded to the New York Giants, with whom he played his last game on September 27, 1936. Koenig is most famous for being the last surviving member of the Murderers' Row.

==Early life== Koenig was born on July 19, 1904, in San Francisco.<ref name=BR>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/koenima01.shtml|title=Mark Koenig Statistics and History|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref> His father, Charles Koenig, and paternal grandfather William were both bricklayers, with the latter having immigrated from Germany to the United States.<ref name="'27 Yankees">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BnzJ1HZRF_QC&q=mark+koenig&pg=PA212|title=The '27 Yankees|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|date=July 26, 2005|last=Glueckstein|first=Fred|pages=212–215|isbn=9781469113081|access-date=December 27, 2012}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=January 2018}} His mother Stella<ref name="'27 Yankees"/> was of Swiss descent.<ref name=classic>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tIQtUDUwExwC&q=mark+koenig&pg=PA27|title=The Cardinals and the Yankees, 1926: A Classic Season and St. Louis in Seven|publisher=McFarland|date=December 16, 2010|last=Doutrich|first=Paul E.|pages=27–29|isbn=9780786461783|access-date=December 27, 2012}}</ref> Koenig had two brothers and a sister, and, during his childhood, he first met and played baseball with fellow San Franciscan and future teammate Tony Lazzeri.<ref name="'27 Yankees"/> He attended Lowell High School in his hometown, but dropped out at the age of 16 in order to pursue a career in baseball. His high school eventually bestowed upon him his diploma in 1988. Koenig, who was 83 at the time, described the honor as a complete surprise.<ref>{{cite news|title=Koenig fields his diploma 67 years after dropping out|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/55816427.html?dids=55816427:55816427&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+15%2C+1988&author=Denise+Tom&pub=USA+TODAY+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Koenig+fields+his+diploma+67+years+after+dropping+out&pqatl|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216160526/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/55816427.html?dids=55816427:55816427&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+15,+1988&author=Denise+Tom&pub=USA+TODAY+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Koenig+fields+his+diploma+67+years+after+dropping+out&pqatl|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 16, 2013|date=March 15, 1988|access-date=December 26, 2012|first=Denise|last=Tom|page=2C|newspaper=USA Today}} '''{{subscription required}}'''</ref>

==Professional career==

===Minor leagues=== Koenig first started playing organized baseball on the Moose Jaw Millers team in the Western Canada League.<ref name=BRm>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=koenig003mar|title=Mark Koenig Minor League Statistics and History|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=December 31, 2012}}</ref> It was here he was first spotted by Bob Connery, a scout who worked for the New York Yankees organization. After the league collapsed in the middle of the season, he proceeded to play with the St. Paul Saints, a minor league baseball team which competed in the American Association. He spent nearly the next four seasons with the team; during this time, he had brief sojourns with the Jamestown Jinkotans and the Des Moines Boosters in order to garner more playing experience.<ref name="'27 Yankees"/><ref name=BRm/>

Koenig returned to St. Paul in {{baseball year|1924}} and though he spent the entire season with the team, he played just 68 games for them.<ref name=BRm/> At the end of the season, the Saints advanced to the Little World Series, where they faced the International League's Baltimore Orioles. Having had limited playing time, it was in Game 5 where he finally had the opportunity to prove himself.<ref name="'27 Yankees"/> Danny Boone, St. Paul's starting shortstop, injured his ankle during batting practice.<ref name=classic/><ref name=accident>{{cite news|title=Mark Koenig Can Thank An Accident For Baseball Start|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1RggAAAAIBAJ&pg=2214,3096339&dq=mark+koenig&hl=en|date=November 7, 1928|page=10|access-date=December 27, 2012|newspaper=The Lewiston Daily Sun}}</ref> Although the rules at the time stipulated the Saints could temporarily utilize a player from another American Association team to replace Boone, the Orioles objected<ref name="'27 Yankees"/> and the National Association president ruled Koenig constituted an ample substitute for Boone. He proved to be exactly that when he scored the Saints' only run via a home run. He finished the Little World Series with a .429 batting average and 2 home runs, including one hit off Lefty Grove.<ref name=forgotten/><ref name=accident/> His stellar performance in the series resulted in at least seven MLB teams seeking to acquire him in the offseason.<ref name=classic/> However, he stayed with the Saints for the first part of the {{baseball year|1925}} season before he was traded on May 29 to the New York Yankees in exchange for Fred Hofmann, Oscar Roettger, $50,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|50000|1925}}}} in current dollar terms) and a player to be named later (Ernie Johnson).<ref name=BR/><ref>{{cite news|title=Yanks Pay $50,000 for Shortstop Mark Koenig|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lcxkAAAAIBAJ&pg=5402,7959577&dq=mark+koenig&hl=en|date=September 29, 1925|page=2|access-date=January 8, 2013|newspaper=Providence County Times}}</ref>

===New York Yankees (1925–1930)=== Koenig made his major league debut for the Yankees on September 8, 1925, at the age of 21,<ref name=BR/> entering the game as a defensive substitute for shortstop Pee-Wee Wanninger in a 5–4 win against the Boston Red Sox.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS192509081.shtml|title=September 8, 1925 New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox Play by Play and Box Score|work=Baseball-Reference.com|date=September 8, 1925|access-date=January 8, 2013}}</ref> During his rookie season the following year, he posted a batting average of .271 and struck out just 37 times in 617 at bats,<ref name=BR/> a statistic which his manager Miller Huggins looked highly upon.<ref name="'27 Yankees"/> Defensively, he committed the most errors among all fielders in the American League and most errors by a shortstop with 52. Nonetheless, he had the AL's third highest range factor at shortstop of 4.99 and made a league-leading 470 putouts.<ref name=BR/> In the postseason, the Yankees advanced to the 1926 World Series, where they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1926_WS.shtml|title=1926 World Series (4–3): St. Louis Cardinals (89–65) over New York Yankees (91–63)|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=January 13, 2013}}</ref> In the crucial Game 7, Koenig made an error attempting to field a double play opportunity in the fourth inning. This eventually led to the Cardinals scoring what turned out to be the winning run in a 3–2 victory. Koenig was subsequently criticized by fans for being responsible for Yankees losing the game and, ultimately, the series.<ref name="'27 Yankees"/>

Koenig was penciled into the two-hole spot in the Yankees' {{mlby|1927}} Opening Day lineup, with Earle Combs batting in front of him at leadoff and Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bob Meusel and Tony Lazzeri batting behind him.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3E0x3fg-TYC&q=mark+koenig&pg=PT271|title=A Yankee Century & Beyond|publisher=Sourcebooks, Inc.|date=November 1, 2007|last=Frommer|first=Harvey|pages=253|isbn=9781402248740|access-date=January 13, 2013}}</ref> This lineup, which was utilized in that order throughout the majority of the season, was given the nickname "Murderers' Row". Many sports analysts, baseball writers and fans consider the 1927 team the greatest baseball team of all time.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tom Verducci's Top 10 Teams of All Time – 1927 Yankees|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1003/mlb.verducci.top.10.teams.all.time/content.1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401101557/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1003/mlb.verducci.top.10.teams.all.time/content.1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 1, 2010|access-date=January 13, 2013|first=Tom|last=Verducci|work=SI.com|publisher=Time Warner}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Murderers' Row – Opposing Pitchers' Worst Nightmare|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KyQxAAAAIBAJ&pg=6266,2435643&dq=mark+koenig+murderers+row&hl=en|date=March 23, 2002|page=6B|access-date=January 13, 2013|newspaper=Rome News-Tribune}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Baseball Preview '02: 75th anniversary of Murderers' Row|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=APAB&d_place=APAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F86C9F6012274A8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|date=March 19, 2002|access-date=January 13, 2013|first=Hal|last=Bock|agency=Associated Press Archive|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Although he was dismissive of the role he played,<ref name=survivor1>{{cite magazine|title=A Golden Team's Sole Survivor|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1136518/index.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130215180953/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1136518/index.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 15, 2013|date=September 3, 1990|access-date=January 16, 2013|first=Dave|last=Newhouse|magazine=Sports Illustrated|page=1}}</ref> Koenig contributed to the team's success as he batted .285 and amassed 150 hits, 11 triples, 99 runs scored and 62 runs batted in. However, he once again led the league in errors with 47, but compensated for this by recording the highest range factor at shortstop (5.61) and third most assists at shortstop (423).<ref name=BR/> He was also part of history when, after hitting a triple, he was the only Yankees' player on base when Babe Ruth set a new single-season record by hitting his milestone 60th home run.<ref name=survivor1/> The Yankees advanced to the World Series that year, where they swept the Pittsburgh Pirates. Koenig performed impressively throughout the series, leading the team with a .500 batting average while committing no errors in 24 total chances.<ref name=link/>

===Later career=== {{expand section|date=February 2024}} On May 30, 1930, the Yankees traded Koenig and Waite Hoyt to the Detroit Tigers for Ownie Carroll, Harry Rice, and Yats Wuestling.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/05/31/archives/hoyt-and-koenig-go-to-tigers-in-trade-yanks-obtain-outfielder-harry.html | title=HOYT AND KOENIG GO TO TIGERS IN TRADE; Yanks Obtain Outfielder Harry Rice, Pitcher Carroll and Infielder Wuestling | work=The New York Times | date=31 May 1930 }}</ref> Koenig went to the Cubs in 1932 with whom he returned to the World Series this time against the New York Yankees. It news was that the Cubs voted Koenig only a half share of the World Series bonus that led to hostility from his former team which continued over the course of the series famously culminating in Babe Ruth’s called shot home run. <ref>{{cite news| title=Baseball History in 1932: The So-Called Shot | url=https://thisgreatgame.com/1932-baseball-history/ }}</ref>

===Career statistics=== [[File:Mark Koenig by George Burke.jpg|thumb|230px|Mark Koenig as a member of the Chicago Cubs, circa 1932–33.]] In 1162 games over 12 seasons, Koenig posted a .279 batting average (1190-for-4271) with 572 runs, 195 doubles, 49 triples, 28 home runs, 446 RBIs, 31 stolen bases, 222 bases on balls, .316 on-base percentage and .367 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .933 fielding percentage playing primarily at shortstop, third and second base. In 20 World Series games, he batted .237 (18-for-76) with 9 runs, 3 doubles, 1 triple and 5 RBI.<ref name="BR" />

==Personal life== In June 1928, Koenig became engaged to Katherine Tremaine, whom he married at the end of that year's baseball season.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mark Koenig Will Marry Red Bluff High School Girl|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kzAiAAAAIBAJ&pg=5743,6568482&dq=mark+koenig&hl=en|date=June 12, 1928|page=16|access-date=December 27, 2012|newspaper=San Jose News|agency=United Press International}}</ref> Together, they had one daughter, Gail, who was born in 1930.<ref name=forgotten>{{cite news|title=The forgotten Saint on Yankees Murderers Row|url=http://www.minnpost.com/sports/2007/11/forgotten-saint-yankees-murderers-row|date=November 9, 2007|access-date=January 3, 2012|first=Pat|last=Borzi|newspaper=MinnPost}}</ref> He later was remarried to Doris Bailey,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aChCBw-PmHQC&q=mark+koenig&pg=PA825|title=Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: Baseball, Revised and Expanded Edition Degreesl G–P|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2000|last=Porter|first=David L.|pages=824–826|isbn=9780313311758|access-date=December 27, 2012}}</ref> who died in 1979.<ref name=prime>{{cite news|title=60 years ago this week, Babe Ruth and the Yankees were in their prime — and the game's greatest hero reached an unthinkable milestone|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JvAlAAAAIBAJ&pg=6866,8233384&dq=mark+koenig&hl=en|date=September 27, 1987|page=C4|access-date=December 27, 2012|first=Glen|last=Ellen|newspaper=The Telegraph|location=Nashua|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> He appeared as himself in ''The Pride of the Yankees'', an Academy Award-winning movie released in 1942 which paid tribute to his fellow Yankees teammate Lou Gehrig.<ref>{{cite news|title='Jersey Shore' catches flack from Italian-American service group|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:TLWB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=13126E397907E250&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=105B9A93AF33E3E3|date=July 22, 2010|access-date=December 26, 2012|first=Rita|last=Sherrow|page=D2|newspaper=Tulsa World}} '''{{subscription required}}'''</ref> After his baseball career ended, he settled back in his hometown and took up several jobs, namely owning gas stations and working as a brewer.<ref name=link>{{cite news|title=Koenig Is A Living Link To '27 Yankees And Ruth|url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_topdoc=1&p_docnum=1&p_sort=YMD_date:D&p_product=AWNB&p_text_direct-0=document_id=(%200EF51557191A9ED8%20)&p_docid=0EF51557191A9ED8&p_theme=aggdocs&p_queryname=0EF51557191A9ED8&f_openurl=yes&p_nbid=N52B4ENMMTM1NzQwMTM4Ni4yODMxNjk6MTo1OmNpc2hr&&p_multi=LANB|date=August 16, 1987|access-date=January 6, 2013|first=Doug|last=Spoon|page=SB6|newspaper=San Gabriel Valley Tribune|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Beginning in 1982, Koenig's health began to deteriorate. In addition to the lung cancer which had developed as a three-pack-a-day smoker,<ref name=forgotten>{{cite news|title=The forgotten Saint on Yankees Murderers Row|url=http://www.minnpost.com/sports/2007/11/forgotten-saint-yankees-murderers-row|date=November 9, 2007|access-date=January 3, 2012|first=Pat|last=Borzi|newspaper=MinnPost}}</ref><ref name=prime/> he also suffered from gout, poor eyesight and back pain necessitating the use of a cane. Because of these ailments, he moved to Orland, California, in 1986 in order to live with his daughter and her family.<ref name=p6>{{cite magazine|title=A Golden Team's Sole Survivor – Mark Koenig is the last of the 1927 New York Yankees|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1136518/6/index.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130215183156/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1136518/6/index.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 15, 2013|date=September 3, 1990|access-date=December 26, 2012|first=Dave|last=Newhouse|page=6|magazine=Sports Illustrated}}</ref><ref name=NYT>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/25/obituaries/mark-koenig-88-played-shortstop-for-1927-yanks.html|title=Mark Koenig, 88; Played Shortstop For 1927 Yanks|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 25, 1993|access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref> He died of cancer<ref name=NYT/> on April 22, 1993, in Willows, California, at the age of 88 and was cremated.<ref name=BR/> He had outlived his two wives<ref name=p6/> and was survived by his daughter, five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving member of the 1927 New York Yankees starting lineup, nicknamed "Murderers' Row".<ref name=NYT/> He was also the last surviving member of the 1928 World Champion New York Yankees.

==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links== {{Baseballstats|mlb=117230 |espn=23869|br=k/koenima01 |fangraphs=1007077 |brm=koenig003mar}}

{{1927 New York Yankees}} {{1928 New York Yankees}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koenig, Mark}} Category:1904 births Category:1993 deaths Category:American people of Swiss-German descent Category:Baseball players from San Francisco Category:Chicago Cubs players Category:Cincinnati Reds players Category:Detroit Tigers players Category:Jamestown Jimmies players Category:Major League Baseball shortstops Category:Mission Reds players Category:New York Giants (baseball) players Category:New York Yankees players Category:St. Paul Saints (AA) players Category:People from Orland, California Category:20th-century American sportsmen