 Russell Blackburne
Providence (Minor League)
 1928-29: Manager Chicago AL
1918: Batted .228
Famous for his 'mud' (see below)
LENA BLACKBURNE
Blackburne, Russell Aubrey "Slats"
b: 10/23/1886, Clifton Heights, Pa. d: 2/29/68, Riverside, N.J.
BR/TR, 5'11", 160 lbs. Deb: 4/14/10 MC
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YEAR TM/L G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
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1910 Chi-A 75 242 16 42 3 1 0 10 19 .174
1912 Chi-A 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1914 Chi-A 144 474 52 105 10 5 1 35 66 58 .222
1915 Chi-A 96 283 33 61 5 1 0 25 35 34 .216
1918 Cin-N 125 435 34 99 8 10 1 45 25 30 .228
1919 Bos-N 31 80 5 21 3 1 0 4 6 7 .262
Phi-N 72 291 32 58 10 5 2 19 10 22 .199
Yr 103 371 37 79 13 6 2 23 16 29 .213
1927 Chi-A 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1.000
1929 Chi-A 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --
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Total 8 550 1807 173 387 39 23 4 139 162 ?151 .214
Lena had a lackluster major league career as he was considered the 'good field, no hit' variety of player. While
coaching for Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's during the 1930's, Lena heard an umpire complain about the slickness
of new baseballs that came into play. He came up with the idea of using mud that had special qualities (which he
found as a kid) along the Pennsauken Creek near his hometown and developed it into a sellable product. It quickly
found acceptance among the major league teams and the umpires whose job it had been to apply the mud to the baseballs
before the start of the game.
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