Dooin an iron man behind plate for Phillies
Catcher known as 'Red' logged 1,124 games from 1902-14
Charles "Red" Dooin was a 5-foot-9 catcher who barely tipped the scales at 150 pounds during a 15-year career in the Majors. The first 13 years (1902-14) were with the Phillies.
Dooin caught 1,124 games, a club record that stood until Aug. 18, 2006, when Mike Lieberthal passed him. Dooin still owns the club record for most assists, 199, in 1909. He wasn't much of a hitter, compiling a .241 average in 1,219 games, and he hit 10 home runs -- six coming in 1904. Five of those six were inside-the-park homers, the most for any Phillies player in a season. Dooin had the dubious distinction of leading the National League in errors six times, including a career-high 40 in 1909, an NL record that hasn't been broken.
On Oct. 1, 1904, Dooin became the first Phils player to hit an inside-the-park grand slam.
A feisty, temperamental redhead, Dooin was known for blocking home plate regardless of the size of an oncoming baserunner. He sustained a broken ankle and a broken leg in back-to-back seasons, curtailing his playing days.
While there are different stories as to which catcher wore shin guards for the first time, some reports claim Dooin was the first, wearing a pair of rattan guards during the 1906 season.
Dooin became player-manager of the Phillies in 1910. The '13 club finished second, but he was fired following a sixth-place finish in '14. Pat Moran, a teammate and fellow catcher on that club, was named manager in '15, the year the Phils won their first NL pennant. Dooin's managerial record was 392-370, which ranks sixth on the club's all-time list for wins by a manager.
Traded to Cincinnati in Spring Training 1915, Dooin played there for part of the season before moving to the New York Giants on waivers. His big league career ended there in 1916.
At age 40, Dooin's pro career came to an end in 1919 as player-manager in Reading, Pa., in the International League. The team was known as the Coal Barons.
A singer and actor, Dooin spent some winters on the vaudeville circuit following his playing career. He died in Rochester, N.Y., on May 14, 1952, from a heart attack. Dooin was 72 years old.