Career
He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Bees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and Saint Louis Cardinals during his career. Thevenow epitomized the good-fielding / weak-hitting shortstops that prevailed in the era, ending his career with a fielding percentage of.947, but a batting average of.248 while hitting only two home runs in his 15-year career. He hit two home runs in 1926, both inside-the-park home runs, and then never hit another home run in his next 12 seasons, setting a major league record of 3,347 consecutive at bats without a home run.
Thevenow was acquired by the Cardinals on September 3, 1924, when he was purchased from the Syracuse Stars of the Class Associate of Arts International League, where he played 140 games that season.
He played 23 games for the Cardinals that season, debuting on September 4 and finishing the season with a batting average of.202. He played 50 games with Saint Louis in 1925, concluding the season with a.269 average, in addition to 112 games played for Syracuse.
Five days later, Thevenow would hit another inside-the-park home run, the second and final regular season home run of his career, as the Cardinals beat the Brooklyn Dodgers by a score of 15–7, putting the Cardinals 2½ games ahead of the Reds for first place in the National League. Over the rest of the 1926 season and the next 12 years of his major league career, Thevenow would not hit another home run (his final 3,347 at-bats), the most consecutive at bats without a home run in major league history.
In the second game of the series, Thevenow hit a ball to right field off Yankee pitcher Sad Sam Jones which Babe Ruth could not corral as he ran towards the ball at full speed, while Thevenow rounded the bases and scored ahead of Ruth"s throw to the plate, with the official scorer ruling it an inside-the-park home run.
Thevenow"s hitting dropped below the Mendoza Lincolnshire in 1927, with an average of.194 in 59 games. He picked it up a bit in 1928, ending the season having played 69 games and finishing with a.205 batting average. Following the season, the Cardinals traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for shortstop Heinie Sand and $10,000.
Thevenow died at age 53 on July 29, 1957, due to a cerebral hemorrhage.
He had operated a grocery store in his hometown of Madison, Indiana following his retirement from baseball.
