On May 24th, 1962, former Washington Senator and Cleveland infielder George “Rabbit” Nill died in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

I have mentioned here often before that as I “research” baseball history I am naturally drawn to players with the kind of nicknames that you do not see anymore in baseball, or society at large. “Rabbit” is one of those nicknames.

A quick search at Baseball Reference and I find 4 other players with the nickname of Rabbit.:

• “Rabbit” Maranville (1912-1935)
• “Rabbit” Warstler (1930-1940)
• “Rabbit” Benton (1922)
• “Rabbit” Robinson (1903-1910)

I also find that there was a player whose last name was Rabbit, Joe Rabbit. Joe Rabbit appeared in just one game. He had 3 Plate Appearances for Cleveland in 1922. He went 1 for 3 and scored 1 Run.

George “Rabbit” Nill was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on July 14th, 1881. He played for the Washington Senators from 1904-1907. In 1907 he was traded to Cleveland where he played until 1908. In his 5-year career, he hit just .212.

I assume that Nill was a quick player, hence the nickname “Rabbit.” The most famous player with the nickname of “Rabbit” is, of course, Hall of Fame, shortstop Walter “Rabbit” Maranville. Maranville’s nickname came from his quickness.

Looking at Deaball Era stats (pre-1920) is tricky. The game was just much different than the game we watch now. Nothing really stands out when looking at Nill’s Baseball Reference page. In 1905 he hit the only 3 HR of his career. I assume, since this was the Deadball Era, that they were all inside-the-park homers. For what it’s worth, those 3 HR in just 319 At-Bats did make him 10th in the AB per HR Category that year!

That 1905 year he divided his time between playing 2B and 3B. In 1906, he played most of his games for the Senators (now Minnesota Twins) at SS. Again, this makes you assume that he was a quick player.

I did a quick internet search to see if I could find an obituary for George “Rabbit” Nill. I wanted to know what he did after his playing days were over. I couldn’t find anything. Since he died and was buried in Fort Wayne, I assume he just went back to his hometown after the 1908 season when his time with Cleveland was done.

For 5 years, George “Rabbit” Nill played baseball at its highest level. That is more than most people can say. I hope though, that his years playing baseball were not the only highlights of his life. Any life after all is filled with moments of grace. I hope he had many and appreciated them all.