 Ervin Thomas Beck was born on July 19, 1878, in Toledo, Ohio.He made his first professional baseball appearance at the age of 16, when he signed with the Adrian Reformers of the Michigan State League.From 1896 into the 1899 minor league baseball seasons, he played for the Toledo Mud Hens of the Interstate League, hitting 11 home runs and a .298 batting average in 1898.