As manager Norman Arthur "Kid" Elberfeld (April 13, 1875 – January 13, 1944) was an American professional baseball shortstop.
He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1898), Cincinnati Reds (1899), Detroit Tigers (1901–1903), New York Highlanders (1903–1909), Washington Senators (1910–1911), and Brooklyn Robins (1914).
On one occasion, while in the minors, Elberfeld threw a lump of mud into the umpire's open mouth.
[6] Elberfeld played only 14 games for the Phillies in 1898 before being sent to the Detroit Tigers, then a minor league team in the Western Conference.
In June 1903, with Elberfeld hitting .341 for the Tigers, he was traded to the New York Highlanders for Herman Long and Ernie Courtney.
Despite his hot hitting, Elberfeld had fallen out of favor in Detroit after being suspended for abusing an umpire.
Tiger manager Ed Barrow accused Elberfeld of deliberately throwing games to get himself traded.
For example, on May 20, 1907, Elberfeld stole home twice in the same game, the first American League player to accomplish that feat.
The grizzled veteran and the 22-year-old youngster sat together on trains, roomed together in hotels, dined together in restaurants, shared thoughts on the bench and talked for hours about baseball.
In 1901, he made 332 putouts and had a range factor rating of 6.14 – 87 points higher than the league average for shortstops.
[11][12] Early in his baseball career, Elberfeld bought an apple orchard on Signal Mountain, near Chattanooga.
Elberfeld built his home and raised a family of five daughters and a son on Signal Mountain.
His daughters formed a basketball team that played as "The Elberfeld Girls" and appeared on many Southern programs for several years.