February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Irish-Americans played a key role in the popularization of the “national pastime” in the 19th century. They were drawn to it because baseball was fundamentally an urban sport and Irish-Americans a fundamentally urban people. The Irish were also quite poor, another factor that has contributed to one group or another dominating a particular sport. While many Irish-born players excelled at the game, the great majority of the Irish involved were born in the U.S. By the 1890s, at least a third of professional baseball players were of Irish origin. Another tabulation on 1915 found 11 of baseball’s 16 managers were likewise Irish.
With so many Irish-Americans playing professional baseball in its early decades, it’s not surprising to that many of the game’s earliest stars were of Irish ancestry. Mike “King” Kelly, for example, helped the Chicago Nationals win five championships in the 1880s. He led the league in batting in 1884 and 1886 and was a legendary base stealer, giving rise to the expression, “slide, Kelly, slide.” “Big” Ed Delahanty (one of five brothers who made the big leagues) posted a whopping career batting average of .346 and even hit four home runs in a single game. Roger Connor was the home run king of the so-called “dead ball era,” with 192 round trippers over his career to go with 12 seasons with a batting average over .300. Joe Kelley was a standout left fielder for the Baltimore Orioles in the 1890s. He hit over .300 in 12 consecutive seasons, including .391 in 1894. Pitcher Tim Keefe won 342 games in 14 seasons, twice winning more than 40 games in a single season. He is credited with inventing the changeup. James Francis “Pud” Galvin became baseball’s first 300-game winner and pitched more innings (5,959) and complete games (641) than anyone but Cy Young.
Irish-American stars also emerged in the game’s modern era and are well-represented in the Baseball Hall of Fame. What follows is a survey of the very best, with apologies to the many Irish-American worthies not mentioned due to limited space.
Roger Patrick Bresnahan was a tough guy who, paradoxically, pioneered the use of safety equipment in professional baseball. He went by the nickname “the Duke of Tralee,” after the hometown of his family, Tralee, Co. Kerry. His career soared in 1901 after he began playing for manager John McGraw, a fellow stocky and pugnacious Irishmen. Bresnahan’s legacy is the shin guards used by modern catchers. He fashioned his from a set of cricket shin guards after one too many foul balls struck him behind the plate. In 1945 he became the first catcher elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Gordon Stanley “Mickey” Cochrane was also one of the greatest catchers in the game. He batted .320 for his career, excelled behind the plate, and possessed a spirit that gave him exceptional leadership qualities. “Black Mike” was the spark of the Philadelphia Athletics’ championship teams of 1929-31 and as player-manager he later directed the Detroit Tigers to two league championships and a World Series title. A beaning in 1937 ended his playing career. He was elected to the sport’s Hall of Fame in 1947.
In his first full season, in 1909, with Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics, Eddie Collins set the tone for the rest of his remarkable 25-year career, posting a .346 average with 67 stolen bases. He went on to hit over .340 in 10 seasons for a lifetime batting average of .333. He entered the Hall of Fame in 1939.
Joe Cronin had it all — great bat, great glove, great legs. He hit over .300 eight times and collected eight seasons with more than 100 RBI. Cronin was league MVP in 1930 when he posted a .346 average with 126 RBI. Remarkably, he accomplished most of this while serving as player-manager, winning more than 1,200 games and posting a lifetime .540 winning percentage. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1956.
Hugh Duffy was a brilliant outfielder as well as one of the best hitters in the game during his era. He assembled a string of 10 straight .300-plus seasons, and in 1894 he batted an all-time record .438 while leading the National League in doubles (50) and home runs (18). He was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1945.
Known as an excellent hitter and base stealer, Max Carey hit .300 in six seasons and led the league in steals in 10 straight seasons. In 1922, he stole 51 bases and was caught only twice. Carey was also a superb fielder and still holds several defensive records for center fielders. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1961.
Certainly the most astounding statistic in Ed Walsh’s career is his lifetime ERA of 1.82. Maybe the fact that he threw the spitball when it was still legal had something to do with it. Regardless, he was one of the most dominant pitchers of the early 20th century. In 1908 he went 40-15, with a 1.42 ERA. He entered the Hall of Fame in 1946.
One of the hardest throwers in baseball history, Texan Nolan Ryan set numerous pitching records, including most strikeouts (5,714), most no-hitters (7), most games with 15 or more strikeouts (26), and most strikeouts in a single season (383). The “Ryan Express” never showed signs of slowing down and became the only pitcher to strike out 16 or more batters after the age of 40, accomplishing the feat three times. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999.
Don Sutton didn’t throw as hard as Ryan, but he had one of the most successful pitching careers in recent baseball history. Playing most of his career for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he racked up 324 wins versus 256 losses (ERA 3.26). His greatest asset was his consistency. He won 15 games or more for eight consecutive seasons (1969-1976). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998.
Many Irish-Americans played other important roles in the history of the game. Two of the game’s greatest managers were Connie (Cornelius McGillicuddy) Mack and John McGraw. Significant Irish-American owners of baseball franchises include Charles Comiskey (White Sox), Charlie Finley (Athletics), and Walter O’Malley (Dodgers). Announcer Vin Scully (Dodgers) has been calling games for more than 50 years.
Note: For more information on the Irish in the early days of baseball, see Jerrold Casway’s book, Ed Delahanty in the Emerald Age of Baseball (Notre Dame Press, 2004)
(Visit www.edwardtodonnell.com/irish.htm.)