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Lou Bruce

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Lou Bruce
Outfielder
Born: (1877-01-16)January 16, 1877
St. Regis, New York, U.S.
Died: February 9, 1968(1968-02-09) (aged 91)
Ilion, New York, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 22, 1904, for the Philadelphia Athletics
Last MLB appearance
October 10, 1904, for the Philadelphia Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average.267
Home runs0
Runs batted in8
Teams

Louis R. Bruce (January 16, 1877 – February 9, 1968) was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics during the 1904 season.

The son of a Mohawk chief from the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation in upstate New York, he attended Central High School in Philadelphia, where he excelled as a student while playing baseball. Discovered by Ed Barrow, he played for the minor league Toronto Maple Leafs from 1900 to 1903, where he was a two-way player, pitching and playing the outfield and finding success in both roles. He also attended the University of Pennsylvania Dental School during those days, and after retiring as a player, earned a degree in theology from Syracuse University.

He was one of the first Native Americans to reach the major leagues, following Chief Sockalexis, Bill Phyle, his teammate Chief Bender and Ed Pinnance.[1]

He was a practicing minister for many years and a promoter of education and citizenship for Native Americans. Bruce helped organize the National Congress of American Indians and advocated for the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act. He married a Sioux woman with whom he had a son, Louis R. Bruce, who served as Commissioner of Indian Affairs.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "American Indian Major League Baseball Players | Baseball Almanac".
  2. ^ "Louis R. Bruce". University of Pennsylvania Archives and Records Center. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
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