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Benjamin Michael Kauff (January 5, 1890 – November 17, 1961) was a professional baseball player. Kauff was known as the “Ty Cobb of the Feds.” He is the only player to be permanently banned from baseball for reasons other than gambling.

Kauff was a centerfielder who batted and threw left-handed.

Contents 1 Early Career (1912-1915) 2 New York Giants (1916-1920) 3 Acquittal and Banishment 4 Sources 5 External links

Kauff played his first game in the majors with the New York Highlanders on April 20, 1912. He played only five games with the Highlanders before being sent down to the minors.

After spending the 1913 season in the minors, Kauff appeared with the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the short lived third major league, the Federal League. Behind the offense of Kauff, Indianapolis won the first Federal League Crown in 1914. Kauff was traded to the Brooklyn Tip-Tops for the 1915 season. The Tip-Tops were unable to capitalize on Kauff’s offense and finished seventh in the Federal League’s second, and last, season.

Kauff earned the moniker “Ty Cobb of the Feds” with his dominance of offensive categories during both years of the Federal League’s existence. In 1914, he led the league in batting average (.370), runs (120), hits (211), total bases (305), doubles (44) and stolen bases (44), while he finished third in RBI (95) and walks (72). He followed the 1914 campaign with almost equally impressive season in 1915. That year he led the Federal League in batting average (.342) and steals (55). Meanwhile he finished second in walks (85) and fourth in RBI (83), runs (92), hits (165) and doubles (27).

When the Federal League folded after just two seasons, the New York Giants of the National League purchased his contract from Brooklyn for $35,000. Kauff played with the Giants from 1916 until 1920. Yet, he never found the stroke he had had in the Federal League.

On May 26, 1916 Benny Kauff earned the dubious distinction of being the only player in the twentieth century to be picked off first base three times in one game.

His best season in the National League was 1917 when he came third in runs (89) and stolen bases (30) and finished fourth in batting average (.308). That year the Giants made it to the World Series. The Giants lost four games to two to the Chicago White Sox, in Chicago’s last World Series victory until 2005. In Game 4, however, Kauff almost defeated the White Sox single-handedly by hitting two home runs and driving in three runs in the Giants’ 5-0 victory.

His 1918 campaign was shortened by service in World War I.

In the December of 1919, Benny Kauff was implicated in a car theft ring along with his brother. After only playing 55 games in 1920, the Giants traded Kauff to Toronto of the International League, and his major league days were over.

On May 13, 1921 Benny Kauff was acquitted of auto theft. However, then Baseball Commissioner, Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis banned Kauff from baseball for life. He said that Kauff had an “undesirable reputation and character.”

Kauff appealed his banishment in court on account of his acquittal, but to no avail. On January 17, 1922 an appellate court denied his appeal. Judge Landis was never convinced of his innocence. Landis said, “That acquittal was one of the worst miscarriages of justice that ever came under my observation."

Kauff died November 17, 1961 in Columbus, Ohio, still banned from baseball.

• The Baseball Library
• David Zingler's SBeeN

• Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
• Baseball Library - Timeline
• Baseball's Banned Players
• Baseball Reference (The Bullpen)
• Baseball Almanac
• SABR biography