Batting average .314 Role Baseball player Name Bibb Falk | Runs batted in 784 Home runs 69 | |
 | ||
Died June 8, 1989, Austin, Texas, United States Education University of Texas at Austin | ||
Bibb August Falk (January 27, 1899 – June 8, 1989) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox (1920–28) and Cleveland Indians (1929–31).
Born in Austin, Texas, Falk played football and baseball at the University of Texas before signing with the White Sox in 1920. He was a spare outfielder with the Sox until news of the 1919 Black Sox scandal broke and eight players were suspended; Falk replaced Shoeless Joe Jackson in left field. Falk was a consistent hitter, ending his career after twelve seasons with a .314 career batting average. He was also known as a heady player whose merciless riding of opponents earned him the nickname "Jockey." His best season was in 1926 with the White Sox; he had a .345 batting average, 43 doubles, and 108 runs batted in, and finished 12th in MVP voting that year. After the 1928 season, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Chick Autry, and played three more seasons in the major leagues before retiring as a player and becoming a coach.
After Major League coaching stints with the Indians (1933) and Boston Red Sox (1934), Falk coached baseball at the University of Texas from 1940 to 1942, then again from 1946 to 1967, winning consecutive College World Series titles in 1949 and 1950. In 1975, the new Disch-Falk Field at the University of Texas was named in honor of Falk and his former coach, Billy Disch. He died at age 90 in Austin.