View source for Ripper Collins (baseball)

{{Short description|American baseball player (1904–1970)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Ripper Collins
|position=[[First baseman]]
|image=RipCollinsGoudeycard.jpg
|bats=Switch
|throws=Left
|birth_date={{birth date|1904|3|30}}
|birth_place=[[Altoona, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1970|4|15|1904|3|30}}
|death_place=[[New Haven, New York]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=April 18
|debutyear=1931
|debutteam=St. Louis Cardinals
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 28
|finalyear=1941
|finalteam=Pittsburgh Pirates
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.296
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=135
|stat3label=[[Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=659
|teams=
* [[St. Louis Cardinals]] ({{mlby|1931}}–{{mlby|1936}})
* [[Chicago Cubs]] ({{mlby|1937}}–{{mlby|1938}})
* [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] ({{mlby|1941}})
|highlights=
* 3× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1935 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1935]]–[[1937 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1937]])
* 2× [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1931}}, {{wsy|1934}})
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders|NL home run leader]] (1934)
}}

'''James Anthony "Ripper" Collins''' (March 30, 1904 – April 15, 1970) was an American professional [[baseball]] player, [[Coach (baseball)|coach]] and [[Scout (sport)|scout]]. He played in [[Major League Baseball]] as a [[first baseman]] for the [[St. Louis Cardinals]], [[Chicago Cubs]], and the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]]. A [[switch hitter]] who threw [[left-handed]], Collins was listed as {{convert|5|ft|9|in}} tall and weighed {{convert|165|lb}}, during his playing days. Despite his stature, he was a power hitter who in {{baseball year|1934}} co-led the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] (NL) with 35 [[home runs]] (HR).

The nickname "Ripper" developed during an on-field incident that occurred when Jimmy was a young player. A ball rocketed off his bat and struck a nail protruding from the outfield fence; it caused the cover to partially tear. When asked who hit the ball, the retrieving outfielder saw the ball hanging and said, "It was the ripper."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ripper-collins/|title = Ripper Collins – Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref>

==Baseball career==
Born in [[Altoona, Pennsylvania]], Collins grew up in nearby [[Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania|Nanty Glo]], where he was a standout in sandlot baseball, in his youth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nantyglo.com/ntamhs/oldnews_no31.htm|title=Collins is Promoted to Major Leaguers|date=November 20, 1930|publisher=Nanty Glo "Journal"|work=nantyglo.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061129060341/http://www.nantyglo.com/ntamhs/oldnews_no31.htm|archive-date=November 29, 2006|access-date=December 6, 2019}}</ref> He started his [[Minor League Baseball]] career in 1923, playing in various leagues for eight seasons. Then, in 1930, Collins hit .376 with 40 HR for the [[Rochester Red Wings]] of the [[International League]] (IL). His 180 [[runs batted in]] (RBI) set an IL record.

For that performance, Collins was called up to the big league St. Louis Cardinals, in 1931. As a member of the [[Gashouse Gang]] Cardinals teams, Collins had a breakout season in 1934 with 35 homers (sharing the league's long-ball championship with future [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Famer]] [[Mel Ott]]), 128 RBI, and a .333 [[Batting average (baseball)|batting average]] (BA). That year, he also hit .367 in the [[World Series]], which the Cardinals won in seven games.

[[File:Ripper Collins 1942.jpg|thumb|175px|left|Collins unpacking his bags in [[Albany, New York]] after being named manager of the [[Albany Senators]] in 1942.]]
Collins is the only first baseman to have twice recorded no putouts in a nine-inning game – once for the 1935 Cardinals and again for the 1937 Chicago Cubs.<ref>{{cite book|last=Solomon|first=Abbot Neil|title=Baseball Records Illustrated|publisher=Quintet Publishing|location=London|year=1988|isbn=1-85348-108-4 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Ripper-Collins|title=Ripper Collins Bio at SABR|website=SABR.org|accessdate= April 29, 2024}}</ref> Between his time with the Cubs and the Pirates, Collins spent two years with the [[Los Angeles Angels (PCL)|Los Angeles Angels]], playing in 346 games, during that time.

In 1,084 [[Games played#Baseball|games played]], Collins compiled a .296 BA (1,121 for 3,784),  with 615 [[Run (baseball)|runs scored]], 135 HR, and 659 RBI with 205 [[double (baseball)|doubles]], 65 [[triple (baseball)|triples]] and 356 [[bases on balls]]. His [[on-base percentage]] (OBP) was .360, with a .492 [[slugging percentage]] (SLG). Collins hit better than .300 four times in a nine-year major league career. In 13 World Series games, he batted .277 (13 for 47). Defensively, Collins recorded a .991 regular season [[fielding percentage]].

Collins played in the [[Pacific Coast League]] and [[Eastern League (1938–2020)|Eastern League]], after his big league career was over. In 1944, he was named Minor League Player of the Year as the [[Player-coach#Player-managers in baseball|player-manager]] of the [[Albany Senators]] of the Eastern League. That season — at the age of 40 — Collins hit .396 with a league-leading 40 [[Double (baseball)|doubles]].

Collins returned to the major leagues as a member of the Cubs' [[College of Coaches]] from 1961–63, and was a [[Scout (sport)|scout]] for the Cardinals at the time of his death (in 1970, at age 66).

==See also==
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*{{Baseballstats |mlb=112510 |espn=20320 |br=c/colliri02 |fangraphs=1002464 |brm=collin002jam |retro=C/Pcollr101}}
*{{SABR Baseball Biography Project|95982dfa}}
*[http://thedeadballera.com/Obits/Obits_C/Collins.Ripper.Obit.html Ripper Collins at The Deadball Era] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191123202739/http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Obits_C/Collins.Ripper.Obit.html |date=November 23, 2019 }}
*{{Find a Grave}}

{{1931 St. Louis Cardinals}}
{{1934 St. Louis Cardinals}}
{{NL home run champions}}
{{The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year Award}}
{{1947–1955 International League Hall of Fame inductees}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Ripper}}
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1970 deaths]]
[[Category:Albany Senators players]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Altoona, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Chicago Cubs coaches]]
[[Category:Chicago Cubs players]]
[[Category:Chicago Cubs scouts]]
[[Category:Danville Veterans players]]
[[Category:Jacksonville Tars players]]
[[Category:Johnstown Johnnies players]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball first basemen]]
[[Category:National League All-Stars]]
[[Category:National League home run champions]]
[[Category:People from Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Cambria County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Rochester Red Wings players]]
[[Category:St. Louis Cardinals players]]
[[Category:St. Louis Cardinals scouts]]
[[Category:San Antonio Missions managers]]
[[Category:San Diego Padres (minor league) players]]
[[Category:Savannah Indians players]]
[[Category:Wilson Tobacconists players]]
[[Category:York White Roses players]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]