Hugh Duffy, 1866-1954, from Cranston, was one of major league baseball’s greatest hitters and is still the holder of the single-season batting average record of .438, set in 1894, when Duffy was an outfielder for Boston in the National League. In seventeen major league seasons from 1888 through 1906, Duffy compiled a lifetime average of .328. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.

Hugh Duffy [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. [Hugh Duffy, full-length portrait, standing, facing slightly left, in baseball uniform, hands on hips]. Library of Congress.