Olaf Henriksen

Who was Olaf Henriksen?

Olaf Henriksen was a Major League Baseball outfielder who remains to date the only Danish-born person ever to play in the major leagues. He played seven seasons for the Boston Red Sox as a teammate of Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Tris Speaker, among others, and he played a role in three World Series victories, namely in 1912, 1915 and 1916.

Defensively Olaf Henriksen solely played the outfield. His primary offensive skill was to get on base, and he recorded the second highest on-base percentage in modern baseball history among rookies with more than 100 plate appearances. He never showed much power, though, as he only had one career home run. Henriksen was mainly a bench player for the Red Sox, but he delivered a decisive hit against the famous pitcher Christy Mathewson in Boston's World Series victory in 1912.

Henriksen's nickname was "Swede". In his active baseball career he was 5 ft. 7½ in. tall and weighed 158 lb.