Lon Knight

Who was Lon Knight?

Alonzo P. "Lon" Knight, born Alonzo P. Letti, was an American right fielder, right-handed pitcher and manager in Major League Baseball. He threw the first pitch in the first game played in the new National League on April 22, 1876.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and a graduate of Girard College, he began playing with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1875 when the team was in the National Association, then stayed with them when they joined the National League in 1876. When the team folded after the 1876 season, he did not play in the major leagues again until 1880, when he joined the Worcester Ruby Legs of the NL for one season, and the Detroit Wolverines for two. In 1883, he was named the manager of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association, and the team won the league pennant with Knight also playing right field. In 1884 the team fell back to seventh place in a 13-team league. He finished his career in 1885 when he split the season between the Athletics and the Providence Grays.

On May 21, 1880, he was playing right field at Riverside Park in Albany, New York when Lip Pike hit a ball over the fence and into the river. Few parks at the time had ground rules concerning balls hit over the fence. It was not an automatic home run, so Knight pursued the ball in a boat, eventually giving up.