Pete Fox

Ervin "Pete" Fox (March 8, 1909 – July 5, 1966) was an American professional baseball player from 1930 to 1946. He played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball, principally as a right fielder, for the Detroit Tigers from 1933 to 1940 and the Boston Red Sox from 1941 to 1945. Though his given name was Ervin, Fox became known as "Pete" in 1932 when fans in Beaumont, Texas, dubbed him "Rabbit" in reference to his speed, with the nickname reportedly evolving into "Peter Rabbit" and then simply "Pete".

Fox compiled a .298 career batting average and finished among the American League leaders in batting average four times—8th in 1935 (.321), 10th in 1937 (.331), 9th in 1943 (.288), and 6th in 1944 (.315). His .321 average in 1935 was third highest on the Tigers team that defeated the Chicago Cubs in the 1935 World Series. Fox also ranked among the American League leaders in stolen bases on seven occasions between 1934 and 1944.

Early years Fox was born in Evansville, Indiana, in 1909, the son of a fire captain. He graduated from Bosse High School in Evansville. After graduating from high school, Fox worked at a furniture factory in Evansville and played sandlot baseball.

After a strong showing with Wheeling, Fox was recalled to Evansville for the 1931 season. Each of these players would play together on Detroit's 1934 and 1935 pennant-winning teams. Fox led the Texas League in 1932 with a .357 batting average. The Sporting News in a front page profile in late July 1935 credited Fox with being the Tigers' spark plug:

Super work on the part of a single player often provides the winning accelerant for a team which otherwise might remain close to mediocrity in the result column. . . . This season it has been Ervin (Pete) Fox, little outfielder, who has supplied the winning spark, with a recent run of 29 games in which he hit safely having witnessed the definite upswing of Mickey Cochrane's Bengals.

During the 1935 season, Fox ranked among the American League's leaders in multiple offensive and defensive categories. His .321 batting average was eighth best in the league (third best on the Tigers behind Hank Greenberg and Charlie Gehringer), and his .513 slugging percentage was fifth best in the league.

In 1936, the Tigers acquired future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Al Simmons to play alongside another future Hall of Fame outfielder Goose Goslin. The reconfiguration of the outfield, combined with multiple injuries, resulted in Fox losing his position as the team's starting right fielder. Fox suffered an "attack of lumbago" in early May, a sprained finger in July, and was called home from a road trip in August when his five-month son became ill. Gee Walker became the Tigers' starting right fielder and Fox was relegated to a backup role, starting only 49 games in right field in 1936. He compiled a .305 batting average in 220 at bats. The 1937 Tigers tied a major league record with four players (Fox, Gehringer, Greenberg, and Gee Walker) each compiling 200 or more hits.

Fox began the 1938 season at a torrid pace with the bat. By early May, Fox was batting .451. Although his average dipped to .293 by the end of the 1938 season, Fox compiled a career high with 96 RBIs. The sale of Fox was reported to be a source of "genuine regret" among Detroit fans, and Detroit sports writer Sam Greene wrote that Fox had "undeniable appeal as a steady, hard-working craftsman." Pete and Bettye had one daughter, Beverly June, and one son, James. Peter fathered a son, Donald, in a second marriage (Helen). Don became a pitcher in the Boston Red Sox organization, and James became an all-city football player at his father's alma mater, Bosse High School.