Background
Lelivelt was born as Johannes Franciscus Lelivelt in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on 14 November 1885. His father was Franciscus Zacharias Lelivelt from Groessen, his mother was Theodra Mattijssen from Renkum.
Lelivelt was born as Johannes Franciscus Lelivelt in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on 14 November 1885. His father was Franciscus Zacharias Lelivelt from Groessen, his mother was Theodra Mattijssen from Renkum.
While playing for the Rochester Hustlers, he set the International League record for the longest hitting streak with a 42-game hitting streak in 1912. The record was broken by Brandon Watson in 2007. Early years
Lelivelt made his major league debut with the Washington Senators in 1909.
He saw his most playing time during his years in Washington.
However, his batting average would increase after he left the Senators. Record hitting streak
He started the 1912 season with the Rochester Hustlers.
After his record hitting streak, the first-place Hustlers sold Lelivelt and Tommy McMillen to the New York Highlanders. Lelivelt had a.351 batting average with 33 doubles for the Hustlers.
The Toronto Maple Leafs passed the Hustlers in the standings.
The record hitting streak was lost to history until the 2007 version of the International League Record Book recognized the hitting streak. Previous versions of the book would list the longest hitting streak as 36 games by Bill Sweeney in 1935. Later years
Lelivelt played from 1912 until 1914 as a part-time player.
Despite having a.301 career major league average, he never was a full-time player.
In 1914, several Naps players split time between the Cleveland Naps and the American Association Cleveland Bearcats in an effort to prevent the Federal League from moving a team to Cleveland. Lelivelt was one of those players.
He would play in the minor leagues until retiring as a player in 1925. Lelivelt became a player-manager for the Western League"s Omaha franchise.
Leilvelt later managed the Los Angeles Angels (PCL), including the 1934 team noted as one of the minor league"s "greatest teams".
When Emile Sick purchased the Seattle Rainiers, one of his first projects was bringing Lelivelt to Seattle. Except for 1937, he managed every year until his death in January 1941. He was entombed in Glendale, California"s Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery.
