John Frederick - Baseball

John Frederick played for the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League for six seasons before making his connection to the state of Oregon with the Portland Beavers.

Frederick, born in Colorado, began his professional baseball career in 1921 at age 19, playing in Canada. He entered the PCL two seasons later with Salt Lake City, and played three seasons there, followed by two seasons with Hollywood and then a season with Memphis of the South Atlantic League, terrorizing pitchers for no fewer than 185 hits and a .277 average during those years.

In 1929, Frederick, at age 27, set a Major League record for rookies with 82 extra base hits. His 52 doubles led the Majors that season. In his six seasons with Brooklyn, he collected 954 hits, 85 home runs, 377 RBIs and a combined batting average of .308 in 805 games. Following the 1934 season, the Dodgers traded him to Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League, where he played just one season.

Frederick became a Portland Beaver in 1936 and played 808 games over five seasons. He batted better than .301 in each of those seasons, and served as player/manager of the team in 1940. Following the 1940 season, Frederick retired and lived the remainder of his life in Tigard, where his family owned picnic-oriented Avalon Park for three decades. Johnny Frederick, his son, played at Oregon State in the 1950s.

John Frederick died in Tigard in 1977. He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in1992 and into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame in 2005.