“Niehoff had gotten as far as second on his third inning hit and Murphy’s muff of Brenton’s pickoff throw.” Seattle Daily Times, August 3, 1920, p15
- NOTE: Next use is not until 1937, after which it becomes more common.
Previous earliest use (Dickson Baseball Dictionary, 3rd edition, 2009):
1ST USE. 1948. “First baseman Ed Robinson takes catcher Jim Hegan’s attempted pickoff throw” (Indiana [Pa.] Evening Gazette photo caption, Oct. 9; Peter Morris).
