Joe Boley

John Peter "Joe" Boley (July 19, 1896 – December 30, 1962) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1927 to 1932, most notably as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics dynasty that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1929 to 1931 and, won the World Series in 1929 and 1930. He also played for the Cleveland Indians.

Boley started his professional career with the Baltimore Orioles where he played on seven championship teams. Boley, along with teammates Lefty Grove and Jack Ogden were held back by manager Jack Dunn for financial and performance reasons, which held back his Major League career. He was signed by Connie Mack for an estimated $60,000 in 1927, but his career was on the decline. Despite his short MLB career, Boley was considered to be one of the top shortstops in baseball.

Early life Born John Peter Bolinsky to Polish immigrants, Bolinsky started working in the coal fields surrounding Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania at age 10. The Chicago White Sox also took an interest in Boley, but Dunn requested $100,000 and three players, which they declined. It made manager Jack Dunn give Boley a high salary, similar to the average pay from Major League Baseball. After the Toronto Maple Leafs won the pennant in 1926, Dunn redundantly parted ways with Boley. Athletics owner Connie Mack bought him for an estimated $60,000 to $100,000 in 1927, when the Orioles team was being disbanded. Boley joined Jimmie Foxx, Max Bishop, and Jimmy Dykes in Mack's "Million Dollar Infield", which sparked the A's to three pennants and two world championships (1929–31). In 1930, Boley again led all American League shortstops with a .970 fielding percentage, while finishing fourth in assists and putouts.

Before the start of the 1932 spring training, Mack sold Boley to the Cleveland Indians in a trial basis, with the proviso that the Indians would buy his full contract if satisfied, and return him to the Athletics if not. The Indians had tried three shortstops during its 1931 campaign, Ed Montague, Bill Hunnefield and Jonah Goldman, without much success. Cleveland manager Roger Peckinpaugh thought Boley's fielding skills would help them win, and Boley was considered a "considerable improvement" by local sportswriters. He signed a contract with the Indians on June 10, but only played one game with them. In a June 29 loss against the Detroit Tigers, Boley had a harmless single in four at-bats, while starting at shortstop. He was released a week later, ending his career. Boley was married to Ann Christoff and had three children. He died in Mahanoy City, after a six-week hospital stay in 1962.