New Millerton marker commemorates birthplace of local legend Eddie Collins

MILLERTON — Students from Arlington High School unveiled a historical marker commemorating the Millerton Inn as the site of an early home of baseball Hall of Famer Eddie Collins.

Aayan Munir, Evan Pagett, Joe Natalizio and Manav Patel researched Eddie Collins as part of a history project where they had to secure a Pomeroy Foundation grant for a historical marker.

“A lot of historical figures are chosen, but not a lot of sports figures,” Patel said.

The Millerton Inn is reported to be the birthplace of Eddie Collins. His grandparents owned and operated the property, known as the Simmons House at the time. On May 2, 1887, while his mother, Mary, was visiting the Simmons House, she gave birth to Eddie, according to a biography by Rick Huhn.

Collins began his professional baseball career at the age of 19 while still attending Columbia University. He spent his first season playing only in the minors, but by his third season in 1909 he was a full time player and the starting second basemen. Collins finished the 1909 season with a .349 batting average and 67 stolen bases.

Collins became known for excellent playing offensively and defensively. He became the sixth player ever to achieve 3,000 hits in 1925 and is to date the 12th highest ranked player by total hits with 3,315. Collins is one of four players to have stolen more than 500 bases — he stole 745.

Collins played with the Philadelphia Athletics until 1914, including all five seasons the Athletics won the World Series while stationed in Philadelphia. In 1915 he joined the Chicago White Sox where he was a part of the infamous “Black Sox” team that threw the 1919 World Series, although Collins was not implicated in the scandal and arrived on the other side unmarked by the controversy. In 1924 he was named player-manager of the team, a position he held for two seasons.

Collins retired from play in 1930 and went on to coach and manage the Boston Red Sox. Under his leadership, the Red Sox played winning seasons in seven out of 12 years and won their first pennant in 28 years in 1946. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. He retired in 1947 at the age of 60.

Collins died after years of struggles with heart problems in a hospital in Boston in 1951 at the age of 63.