Liz Funk

Elias Calvin "Liz" Funk (October 28, 1904 – January 15, 1968) was an American left-handed baseball center fielder.

Funk played professional baseball from 1925 to 1941, including four seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees (1929), Detroit Tigers (1930), and Chicago White Sox (1932–1933). He played only two full seasons in the majors. In 1930, he was Detroit's starting center fielder and compiled a .275 batting average with 26 doubles, 11 triples, 65 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases. In 1932, he was Chicago's starting center fielder with a .259 batting average, 40 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases. Known for his speed, his range factor in the outfield ranked second in the American League in both 1930 and 1932.

During his minor league career, Funk also played for the Oklahoma City Indians (1925–1926), St. Paul Saints (1927–1928), Hollywood Stars (1929), Louisville Colonels (1931-1932), San Francisco Seals (1933–1934), Tulsa Oilers (1935–1936), Salina Millers (1939), and Pueblo Rollers (1941).

Early years Funk was born in 1904 on a farm near La Cygne, Kansas.

Professional baseball Oklahoma City Funk signed his first professional contract with the Oklahoma City Indians of the Western League while still in high school. Playing at the time as a pitcher, he did not make the club during spring training and returned to high school. He returned to the Indians in April 1925. He played in the outfield for the Indians during the 1925 season and hit .306 with a .447 slugging percentage, 41 doubles, 15 triples, and seven home runs.

Funk improved further in 1926, batting .339 with a .491 slugging percentage. During the Yankees' training camp in 1927, Funk was touted as the man who would replace Earl Combs in center field. and Manager Miller Huggins described him as "a fine young player – a hard left-handed hitter, fast in the outfield and a good thrower."

Despite the praise heaped on Funk during spring training, the Yankees sent him under option in late March 1927 to the St. Paul Saints of the American Association. He spent the 1927 and 1928 seasons at St. Paul. He showed a strong throwing arm in the outfield while playing with St. Paul, tallying 22 assists in 1927 and 21 in 1928. In 150 games for the Stars, he compiled a .384 batting average with a career-high .554 slugging percentage and 302 total bases. In 1930, Funk appeared in 140 games for the Tigers, including 127 as the team's starting center fielder. He hit .279 with a .389 slugging percentage, 21 doubles, 11 triples, four home runs, 65 RBIs, 74 runs, and 12 stolen bases. He also hit a bases-loaded triple against the Yankees on August 14.

Funk also ranked third in the American League with 23 sacrifice hits and fifth with five times having been hit by a pitch. The Tigers initially sold Funk to Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). Accordingly, on April 14, the Tigers sold Funk to the Louisville Colonels of the American Association.

Louisville and Chicago Funk appeared in 150 games for Louisville in 1931, batting .282 with a .404 slugging percentage and 15 triples. In the outfield, he made 375 putouts and had 13 assists and 16 errors. Funk played in 122 games for the White Sox (103 as the team's starting center fielder) in 1932 As in 1930, he ranked among the American League's center fielders with 311 putouts (fifth), 11 assists (third), four double plays (second), seven errors (fifth), and a .979 fielding percentage (fourth). His range factor of 3.22 per nine innings was the second highest among all of the league's outfielders. He appeared in 110 games for the Seals in 1933 with a .298 batting average and .413 slugging percentage. He returned to the Seals in 1934, appeared in 169 games, and compiled a .288 batting average and .384 slugging percentage. He played for Tulsa in both 1935 and 1936. He was buried in Fairlawn Cemetery in Oklahoma City.