George Case

Who was George Case?

George Washington Case was an American left and right fielder in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Washington Senators. Possibly the sport's fastest player between the 1920s and 1950s, he is the only player to lead the major leagues in stolen bases five consecutive times, and his six overall league titles tied Ty Cobb's American League record; that mark was later broken by Luis Aparicio. His 349 career steals ranked ninth in AL history at the end of his career, and were the most by any player from 1930 to 1960; his 321 steals with the Senators were the third most in Washington history.

Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Case attended the Peddie School in Hightstown and made his first appearance with the Senators in September 1937, and in his 1938 rookie season batted .305. In 1939 he batted .302, led the Senators with 103 runs, and topped the league for the first time with 51 steals, also earning the first of four All-Star selections. In 1940 he posted career highs in runs, hits and runs batted in while recording 35 steals.