Garland "Jake" Stahl (April 13, 1879 – September 18, 1922) was an American professional baseball first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Boston Americans (later Red Sox), Washington Senators, and New York Highlanders, and managed both the Senators and the Red Sox, leading Boston to a World Series championship in 1912.
Early Life and Education
Stahl was born in Elkhart, Illinois, the third son of Henry and Eliza Stahl. He attended the University of Illinois, where he played both football and baseball under coach George Huff. He was named to the All-Western Conference football team in 1901 and served as captain of the Illinois football team in 1902. He graduated with a law degree in 1903.
MLB Playing Career
Stahl made his MLB debut on June 6, 1903, as a catcher for the Boston Americans. He appeared in 40 games as a rookie catcher in 1903 but did not play in the 1903 World Series. He was subsequently traded to the Washington Senators, where he converted to first base full-time. Over his nine-year major league career (1903–1913), Stahl posted a .261 batting average with 894 hits, 149 doubles, 87 triples, 31 home runs, 437 runs batted in, and 178 stolen bases. He led the American League in home runs in 1910 with 10.
Managerial Career
Stahl became the youngest player-manager in American League history at age 26 when he was appointed manager of the Washington Senators in 1905. He led the Senators to seventh-place finishes in both 1905 (64–87) and 1906 (55–95). After sitting out the 1911 season to work in banking, Stahl returned to baseball as player-manager of the Boston Red Sox in 1912. He led the team to a 105–47 record — still the best single-season record in Red Sox history — and a World Series victory over the New York Giants. His overall managerial record was 263–270 (.493).
Later Life and Death
After resigning as manager in 1913, Stahl returned to banking full-time, becoming vice president and later president of Washington Park National Bank in Chicago. He suffered a nervous breakdown in 1920 and spent two years in a sanitarium in Monrovia, California, where he contracted tuberculosis. He died of the disease on September 18, 1922, at age 43.
Legacy
Stahl is credited as the eponymous origin of the baseball term "jaking it," a phrase used to describe faking an injury to avoid playing or otherwise loafing on the field. He was not related to his Red Sox teammate Chick Stahl, despite contemporary accounts sometimes erroneously listing them as brothers.
