Stutz appeared in six games during a 12 day stretch for the Phillies in August, 1926 (sometimes at shorstop), but went hitless in his nine at bats with two strikeouts. He is most famous, however, for being one of baseball’s greatest clowns.

Baseball-Reference will tell you that George Washington Stutz was born in Philadelphia on February 13, 1889, but his death certificate suggests he was born in Germany. (Given his name, he was born in the US – and that’s what he said when he registered for the World War I draft.) His parents, Jacob and Christina (Ruppert), were both born in Germany and came here around the time of the Great War for Slavery. The slipper maker and janitor and his very busy wife would have nine children, seven of whom lived into adulthood including a sister who was blind. George was the last of the crew to arrive.

Stutz spent a long time in various levels of minor league clubs mostly east of the Mississippi; you’d find him playing anywhere from Hamilton, Ontario to Little Rock of the Southern Association – and one year with Portland in the PCL. By 19, he was playing professionally in the Pennsylvania and Ohio League; his last run as a professional was when he was 38 years old. No matter where he played, he was good copy for the local paper.

The rather small Stutz (5-5, 145) had a reputation as a remarkable defender and a clown. He would do pantomime routines and entertain fans with comical antics and acrobatic ways. Running out to the field, he would do handsprings and somersaults. When he approached home plate to bat he would bounce his bat off home plate. It would ricocchet and spin a few times. Looking away, he’d catch the bat at the handle and get ready to bat. He was compared to Nick Altrock, another player with a comical bent. For all we know, Rabbit Maranville may have learned from this guy.

I want to know where someone who updated Stutz’s Wikipedia page found this image. Awesome. (It’s a digital version of the one seen at the right.) When Stutz was signed to play with Portland, the article announcing his signing talked about how Stutz would frequently be seen in fake whiskers and wigs as if he played on the House of David teams. The article in the Oregon Daily Journal included a picture of Stutz in his Philadelphia Athletics uniform wearing said whiskers (he was hired by Connie Mack to be a baseline coach and entertain fans for 1924). The classic headline read, “Comedian is Signed as Beaver Utility Man.” A few weeks later, Stutz’s position was given as Comedian in that same paper (below).

(For what it’s worth, someone took movies of the team during spring training and among the movies playing at the Liberty Theater in Portland is a film showing George Stutz. We need to find these films… “Webfoot Weekly Showing Beavers in Field Work,” Oregon Daily Journal, March 22, 1925: 7.)

Players teased Stutz about his age. He was 37 when the Phillies signed him to fill an immediate emergency need, and apparently he looked older than he was. A heart condition couldn’t have helped. He passed away in his Philadelphia home on December 29, 1930 of a degenerative heart valve – just 41. His spirit lives on in the fun ballplayers of modern days, but his remains are in an unmarked grave at Hillside Cemetery in Roslyn, Pennsylvania. (Don’t mind the spouse record on that FindAGrave.com page. He never married.)

Notes:

1900, 1910 US Census
PA Death Certificate
WWI Draft Registration Form

“Comedian is Signed as Beaver Utility Man,” Oregon Daily Journal, February 4, 1925: 12.
“‘Kid’ Stutz Goes to Pacific Coast League,” Allentown Morning Call, February 5, 1925: 17.
“Who’s Who with the Beavers,” Oregon Daily Journal, March 19, 1925: 11.
“George Stutz ‘Called Out’,” Wilkes-Barre Record, December 30, 1930: 15.
“Kid Stutz Dies,” York Dispatch, December 30, 1930: 10.