Fred Pfeffer

Pfeffer was one of the last barehanded fielders in baseball, and he was the first player to foil a double steal by cutting off a catcher\'s throw to second base and returning it to home plate. Known as an organizer among players, Pfeffer was active in establishing the Players\' League in 1890 and was involved in an attempt to reestablish the American Association in 1894. He was a manager at the collegiate and minor-league levels, and after his baseball career he ran a successful Chicago bar until Prohibition.\n', '

Pfeffer was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and little is known about his family. However, his parents likely came to the U.S. from Germany, as Pfeffer spoke German fluently into adulthood. He began a three-year stint with a semipro baseball team in Louisville in 1879. In 1881, Pfeffer asserted himself as a staunch opponent to racial integration in baseball, walking off the fie…