Babe Ellison

Who was Babe Ellison?

Herbert Spencer "Babe" Ellison, aka Bert Ellison was a Major League Baseball player for the Detroit Tigers from 1916–1920, and went on to be a star with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League, where he played from 1921-1927. Ellison was inducted into the PCL Hall of Fame in 2006.

Born in Ola, Arkansas, Ellison attended the University of Arkansas before joining Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, and Harry Heilmann on the Detroit Tigers at age 19 in 1916. He played 135 games with the Tigers between 1916 and 1920, playing every position for the Tigers except catcher and pitcher.

After being released by the Tigers, Ellison signed with the San Francisco Seals where he played from 1921-1927. He also was the player-manager from 1923-1926.

Ellison led the Seals to two Pacific Coast League championships. He was 322-250 as a manager, and his 1925 team is ranked by MiLB.com as the tenth greatest of all time. Ellison hit .325 with 22 home runs and 160 RBI that year.

Ellison set PCL records with 5 home runs in 2 games, 8 home runs in 3 games, 10 home runs in a 7-game series and most hits in a 7-game series, going 25-for-37. His career batting average for the Seals was .327. Paul Waner played for the 1924 Seals and led the team with a .401 average, 75 doubles, 280 hits, 167 runs, and 130 RBIs.