Joe McGinnity

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Not to be confused with Joe McGinty.

Joe McGinnity
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 18, 1899, for the Baltimore Orioles
Last MLB appearance
October 5, 1908, for the New York Giants
MLB statistics
Win–loss record246–142
Earned run average2.66
Strikeouts1,068
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1946
Election methodOld-Timers Committee

Joseph Jerome McGinnity (March 20, 1871 – November 14, 1929) was an American right-handed

New York Giants (1902–1908). McGinnity continued to pitch in the minor leagues
, eventually retiring from baseball for good at the age of 54.

In MLB, he

won 246 games with a 2.66 earned run average (ERA). He had seven 20-win seasons and two 30-win seasons.[1] Including his time in the minor leagues, McGinnity won close to 500 games as a professional ballplayer.[2] He led MLB in wins five times (1899, 1900, 1903, 1904, and 1906) and ERA once (1904). With the Giants, he won the 1905 World Series
. His teams also won NL pennants in 1900 and 1904.

McGinnity was nicknamed "

National Baseball Hall of Fame
in 1946.

Early life

McGinnity's father, Peter, was born in

coal mines and on the farm owned by John and Rebecca Denning, and they accepted him, allowing him to move in with them in their Henry County farm.[5] John and Rebecca moved to Oregon, leaving the homestead in the hands of Peter and their daughter, Hannah. The two married in August 1865, three months before the birth of their first son, William.[6] Their second son, Peter, was born in 1869, and Joe was born in 1871. The McGinnitys had four more children.[7]

Joe received little formal schooling.[8] Due to the transient lifestyle of coal miners, his family moved frequently during his childhood. The McGinnitys moved to Gallatin County in 1878.[7] Two days after the birth of their seventh child, Peter died in an accident. At the age of eight, Joe and his older brothers went to work in the mines to support their family.[7] In 1880, the family moved to Springfield, Illinois, where Joe and his brothers worked for the Springfield Coal Company. They moved to Decatur, Illinois, less than six months later, continuing to mine coal, while their mother cleaned houses.[7]

Baseball career

Early career

While living in Decatur, McGinnity began playing baseball with other coal miners in their leisure time.

sportswriter for The Oklahoman, as he organized, managed, and pitched for teams in Krebs.[12] One of these teams began traveling to other towns along the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad to play against their local teams.[13] He also pitched for teams in neighboring towns.[14]

I have never seen a pitcher with more confidence in himself than McGinnity had. He was so cocksure of his fielding ability that he would take any sort of chance, throwing to any base under any circumstance, and this fielding ability lifted him out of many tight spots.

– Hughie Jennings[15]

inning pitched.[3] According to a Western League umpire, catcher Tim Donahue tipped McGinnity's pitches to opposing batters due to a personal feud.[20] As McGinnity continued to struggle for Kansas City, he requested his release in June.[20]

McGinnity moved to

coal miner, bartender, and operated a saloon.[21] McGinnity also pitched locally for semi-professional teams in Springfield and Decatur, receiving a salary between $1 and $3 (between $35.22 and $109.87 in current dollar terms) for each game.[3][21] During this time, McGinnity developed a sidearm pitch he nicknamed "Old Sal", described as a "slow curve",[22] which became a feature of his later success.[21][23][24] He also improved his fielding, as opponents attempted to bunt "Old Sal".[25]

While pitching for a semi-professional team, McGinnity defeated the

Baltimore Orioles in an exhibition game after he had already defeated a team from Chatham, Illinois, earlier in the day.[21] Pat Wright, who managed Springfield's semi-professional team, was named manager of the Peoria Distillers of the Class-B Western Association, and he signed McGinnity to Peoria for the 1898 season, marking his return to professional baseball.[25] Armed with "Old Sal", McGinnity compiled a 9–4 record for Peoria, allowing only 118 hits and 60 walks while striking out 74 batters in 142 innings.[3] He pitched a complete 21-inning game, believed to be the second longest professional baseball game to date.[26] With low attendance and the distraction of the Spanish–American War, the Western Association folded in August.[27]

Major League Baseball

McGinnity (top row, second from left) with the 1899 Baltimore Orioles

Former

Baltimore Orioles
.

With the ownership consolidation, Orioles

player-manager Ned Hanlon, who received an ownership stake in the clubs, moved from Baltimore to Brooklyn and assigned many of his best players to Brooklyn, including Joe Kelley, Dan McGann, Hughie Jennings and Willie Keeler.[29] Hanlon assigned McGinnity to the Orioles for the 1899 season after seeing his unorthodox pitching delivery and slow pitching speed.[21][30] With the Orioles, McGinnity played with John McGraw, who succeeded Hanlon as player-manager, and Wilbert Robinson, who caught McGinnity. McGraw and Robinson had refused to relocate to Brooklyn due to their investment in a Baltimore restaurant. The two imparted their aggressive style of play to McGinnity.[31] In his first year in the NL, McGinnity had a 28–16 record. His 28 wins led the NL, while he ranked second with 48 games, third with a 2.68 earned run average (ERA), and fourth with 366+1⁄3 innings pitched.[3]

After the 1899 season, the NL voted to contract four teams, which included the Orioles. Hanlon assigned McGinnity to Brooklyn, now known as the "Superbas". McGinnity posted a 28–8 record for Brooklyn in the 1900 season. His 28 wins and 343 innings pitched led the league, as the Dodgers won the NL pennant. McGinnity also pitched two complete games in the Chronicle-Telegraph Cup, as the Superbas defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates.[3] Rather than draw straws to decide who would keep the trophy, the team voted to award it to McGinnity.[32]

With the formation of the

Baltimore Orioles of the AL before the 1901 season.[34] He received a salary of $2,800 ($98,603 in current dollar terms),[3] choosing less money in an upstart league for the chance to be reunited with McGraw, who was player-manager and part-owner of the Orioles.[35]

Fighting continued to erupt in games McGraw managed. During a brawl that erupted during a game against the Detroit Tigers on August 21, 1901, McGinnity spat on umpire Tom Connolly. McGinnity was arrested for the incident and permanently suspended by AL president Ban Johnson, who wanted there to be no fighting in AL games. Johnson later cut the suspension down to 12 days after McGinnity apologized.[3][36] McGinnity compiled a 26–20 record for the 1901 Orioles, and his 48 games, 39 complete games, and 382 innings pitched led the AL.[3]

"It was difficult for a batter to get [McGinnity's] measure. Sometimes his fingers would almost scrape the ground as he hurled the ball. He knew all the tricks for putting a batter on the spot.

 – Connie Mack[21]

McGinnity began the 1902 season with the Orioles. However, the franchise began to fall into significant debt. Joe Kelley, star player for the Orioles and son-in-law of part-owner John Mahon, reported that the team owed as much as $12,000 ($422,585 in current dollar terms).[37] Unable to afford that debt, Mahon purchased shares of the team from Kelley and player-manager John McGraw. With this, Mahon became the majority shareholder. On July 17, 1902, Mahon sold his interest in the Orioles to Andrew Freedman, principal owner of the Giants, and John T. Brush, principal owner of the Cincinnati Reds, also of the NL. That day, Freedman and Brush released McGinnity, McGraw, Kelley, Roger Bresnahan, Jack Cronin, Cy Seymour, and Dan McGann from their Oriole contracts. Brush then signed Kelley and Seymour to the Reds, while Freedman signed McGinnity, Bresnahan, Cronin, and McGann, joining McGraw, his new player-manager, on the Giants.[38] McGinnity attempted to contact Johnson that night, offering to stay with the Orioles if he could receive Johnson's personal assurance that he was welcome to stay. McGinnity did not hear back from Johnson, who had left his phone off the hook that night to avoid being contacted, and joined his teammates with the Giants.[36]

With the Giants for the

New York Highlanders of the American League during the 1904 season, set the current MLB records with 55 games started and 454+2⁄3 innings.[40] In 1903, McGinnity started both games of a doubleheader on numerous occasions. He performed this feat three times in a single month, winning all six games. On the final instance, The New York Times reported "he seemed fresh enough to tackle the visitors for a third contest if that were necessary".[41] He pitched over 100 innings in the month of August.[39] Wins by McGinnity and fellow pitcher Christy Mathewson accounted for 73% of the Giants' winning games in 1903,[42] setting an MLB record for a pitching tandem.[3] After the season, McGinnity and some of his teammates threatened to quit the Giants, accusing Brush, now the Giants owner, of going back on a promise to pay the team a monetary bonus for having finished among the top three teams in the NL, as well as a share of the gate receipts from exhibition games, for which they were paid $56.35 ($1,911 in current dollar terms), though Brush allegedly had made over $200,000 ($6,782,222 in current dollar terms). McGinnity claimed that he would pitch in the California League, as he had received a salary offer for "$1,000 ($33,911 in current dollar terms) more than [he] got in New York".[43] Jack Warner eventually joined McGinnity in publicly threatening to quit.[44]

Christy Mathewson, John McGraw, and Joe McGinnity (right) in 1905

McGinnity set an MLB record during the

shutouts (9), saves (5), and his career-best 1.61 ERA.[3] With the Giants competing for the pennant, McGinnity again won both games in a doubleheader three times in a matter of weeks.[46] Aided by McGinnity, the Giants won the NL pennant.[46] However, they did not compete in the 1904 World Series as Brush and McGraw refused to face the AL champion Boston Pilgrims, following their altercations with Johnson.[47] After the 1904 season, McGinnity attempted to hold out from the Giants when Brush refused to allow McGinnity to play winter baseball with a team in the Southern United States.[48]

McGinnity won 21 games in the

Mayor of Pittsburgh, who attended the game, insisted that McGinnity be arrested.[51]

In the

waivers, hoping another owner would relieve him of McGinnity's $5,000 salary ($169,556 in current dollar terms). He tried to waive McGinnity again in August, but both times McGinnity went unclaimed.[3] Despite this, McGinnity reverted to his old form: from August 22 through the end of the season, he had three wins and two saves as the Giants battled the Chicago Cubs for the NL pennant, falling one game short as the Cubs beat them in a one-game playoff on the final day of the season.[52] Overall, McGinnity had an 11–7 record, five shutouts, a 2.27 ERA, and an NL-leading five saves.[3] The Giants released McGinnity on February 27, 1909,[3] when McGinnity decided to pay for his own release.[53]

Later career

McGinnity's 1909 American Tobacco Company baseball card

McGinnity purchased the

player-manager for the Indians.[55] That season, he had a 29–16 record. His 422 innings pitched and 11 shutouts set EL single-season records.[3] He also won both games of doubleheaders on August 27, 1909, and July 23, 1912.[3]

McGinnity played for and managed the Indians through 1912. The Indians finished second in the EL in 1909 and 1910.

Venice Tigers of the Class-A Pacific Coast League
in 1914.

McGinnity sold the Tigers and purchased the Butte Miners of the Northwestern League in 1916, serving as player-manager and bringing with him several players from Tacoma.[59][60] In June 1917, he sold his stock in the team and secured his release.[61] He played for the Great Falls Electrics of the Northwestern League for the remainder of the 1917 season.[62] He later became the manager of the A. E. Staley factory baseball team.[63]

McGinnity served as player-manager of the

old-timers game earlier in the day.[3][21]

McGinnity joined the coaching staff of former teammate Wilbert Robinson, along with Kelley, for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1926 MLB season.[3] McGinnity and Kelley were not retained after the season.[67]

Personal life

McGinnity acquired his nickname, "Iron Man", before his doubleheader pitching became widely discussed.[47] According to Lee Allen in The National League Story (1961), a reporter asked McGinnity, while he was still a minor league pitcher, what he did in between seasons. "I'm an iron man", he answered. "I work in a foundry." McGinnity's wife's family operated an iron foundry in McAlester, Oklahoma, where McGinnity worked in the offseasons.[3]

Because of his nickname and connection to the foundry, John McGraw named McGinnity the starter for the Giants' March 23, 1904, exhibition game against the

St. Louis, Missouri. At his own request, McGinnity was allowed to visit the downtown foundry and personally pour some of the iron into the moulds for the statue.[68]

While working with

critical condition. After the surgery, he was quoted as saying "it's the ninth inning, and I guess they're going to get me out."[46] He died November 14, 1929, in Brooklyn, New York, at the home of his daughter.[69] He was interred in McAlester.[70]

Legacy

New York Giants
in 1904

McGinnity finished his MLB career with 246 career wins, seven 20-win seasons, and two 30-win seasons.

first base.[15]

After his death, McGinnity was eulogized as a "hard player" and "a fighter with brains" who hated to lose.[21] Jennings described him as an even better fielder than he was a pitcher.[23] McGraw said that McGinnity was "the hardest working pitcher I ever had on my ballcub". Connie Mack called him a "magician".[8]

After failing to receive the necessary votes from the

Quad City Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.[70]

In a 1976 article in Esquire magazine, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter", consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Though Stein chose McGinnity as the right-handed pitcher for the Irish team, the team was omitted from the article due to space limitations.[73] The Irish team was included in The Book of Lists, published the following year.[74]

The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James ranked McGinnity as the 41st greatest pitcher of all time.[51]

See also

References

Bibliography
  • Doxsie, Don (2009). Iron Man McGinnity: A Baseball Biography. McFarland & Company.
    ISBN 978-0786442034
    .
  • Brown Jr. Charles William Denning McGinnity Family History, Chicago, Illinois, And is mentioned several time in the book Iron Man McGinnity: A Baseball Biography. McFarland & Company.
    ISBN 0786442034
    .
In-line citations
  1. ^ a b c Dawson, Bill (July 31, 1995). "A Giant Slice of Fame". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. C.7. Retrieved March 29, 2012.[permanent dead link](subscription required)
  2. ^ a b "Iron man McGinnity's iron career: in case you didn't know ..." Modern Casting. November 1, 2005. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Wells, Michael. "Joe McGinnity". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  4. ^ "Sale of New York Giants Was Biggest Baseball Deal in the Long History of the Great Game". The Morning Leader. January 25, 1919. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Doxsie, p. 5
  6. ^ Doxsie, p. 6
  7. ^ a b c d e Doxsie, p. 7
  8. ^ a b Doxsie, p. 4
  9. ^ Doxsie, p. 9
  10. ^ a b Doxsie, p. 10
  11. ^ Doxsie, p. 13
  12. ^ a b Doxsie, p. 14
  13. ^ Doxsie, p. 15
  14. ^ Doxsie, p. 16
  15. ^
    Philadelphia Evening Bulletin
    .
  16. ^ Doxsie, p. 18
  17. ^ Doxsie, p. 21
  18. ^ Doxsie, pp. 23–24
  19. ^ Doxsie, p. 25
  20. ^ a b Doxsie, p. 31
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h McClellan McAndrew, Tara (May 19, 2011). "From Springfield to the Baseball Hall of Fame". Illinois Times. Archived from the original on December 25, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  22. ^ "What Baseball Pitchers Need". The Freeman. March 22, 1913. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  23. ^ a b Jennings, Hugh (December 16, 1925). "Rounding Third: Joe McGinnity, The Iron Man, Chapter 17". Los Angeles Times. p. B3. Retrieved March 29, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  24. ^ Smith, Robert (August 14, 1987). "Underhanded Days in the Big Leagues". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  25. ^ a b Doxsie, p. 37
  26. ^ Doxsie, p. 39
  27. ^ Doxsie, p. 40
  28. ^ Doxsie, p. 42
  29. ^ Steadman, John (March 21, 1999). "'Where They Ain't': Robbing Baltimore". The Baltimore Sun. p. 12.F. Retrieved April 3, 2012. (subscription required)
  30. ^ Doxsie, p. 44
  31. ^ Doxsie, p. 43
  32. ^ Doxsie, p. 56
  33. ^ Doxsie, p. 57
  34. ^ "War that Crippled National League: Ban Johnson's Campaign Swept Star Players Out of the Old Organization" (PDF). The New York Times. December 7, 1913. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  35. ^ Doxsie, p. 58
  36. ^ a b Obenshain, Earl (December 24, 1928). "Ban Johnson Made Punishment Fit Each Offense". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  37. ^ Keenan, Jimmy. "Joe Kelley". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  38. ISBN 1894963377
    .
  39. ^ a b Doxsie, p. 3
  40. ^ "Jack Chesbro Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  41. ^ "National League. – McGinnity Pitched Two Winning Games for New York Against Philadelphia". The New York Times. September 1, 1903. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  42. ^ "1903 New York Giants Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  43. ^ "Six or seven may quit Giants: McGinnity Not the Only Player on New York National Team Who is Disgusted, Warner and M'Gann May Also Quit". The Pittsburgh Press. October 19, 1903. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  44. The Deseret News
    . October 29, 1903. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  45. The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution
    . May 28, 1996. p. D5. Retrieved March 29, 2012. (subscription required)
  46. ^ a b c ""Iron Man" Joe McGinnity Deathly Ill After Knife". The Lewiston Daily Sun. Associated Press. August 28, 1929. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  47. ^ a b "Baseball". Paterson Daily Press. September 28, 1904. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  48. ^ "Baseball Chat: Pitchers Revolt". The Meriden Daily Journal. November 2, 1904. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  49. The Windsor Daily Star
    . Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  50. ^ "Greatest Pitcher of All Time is Dead". The Morning Leader. October 8, 1925. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  51. ^
    ISBN 0743227220
    .
  52. ^ baseball-reference.com
  53. ^ a b "Turkey Wants to Play Ball". The Day. March 6, 1909. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  54. ^ Doxsie, p. 111
  55. ^ "Chase Steps Down as Yanks' Manager; Will Remain with Hilltoppers as First Baseman – Wolverton Mentioned as Leader". The New York Times. November 22, 1911. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  56. ^ "Rochester Again". The Meriden Daily Journal. September 26, 1910. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  57. ^ Doxsie, p. 126
  58. ^ Miller, Morris (January 14, 1915). "Sport Snap Shots". The Day. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  59. ^ "Butte Baseball Outlook Disgusts Joe M'Ginnity". Los Angeles Times. February 16, 1916. p. III2. Retrieved March 29, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  60. ^ "Northwestern to Open Thirteenth Season Today". The Saskatoon Phoenix. April 27, 1916. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  61. Toronto World
    . June 15, 1917. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  62. ^ "From Great Falls to the big leagues? Several players have made that leap". Great Falls Tribune. August 19, 2007. Retrieved March 29, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  63. ISBN 0195353307
    .
  64. ^ a b ""Iron Man" Joe McGinnity". The Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal. November 18, 1929. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  65. ^ "Pitchers' Duel". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. July 25, 1999. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  66. ISBN 0803242581
    . Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  67. ^ Harrison, James R. (December 15, 1926). "National Leaguers Move For Peace — Committee Chosen to Confer With Landis mid Similar American League Group. Resin Ball is Endorsed: Robins Release Kelley and McGinnity". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  68. ^ Rowell, Raymond J. (1972). Vulcan in Birmingham. Birmingham, Alabama: Birmingham Park & Recreation Board. p. 24.
  69. The Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. October 22, 1929. Retrieved March 29, 2012.[permanent dead link
    ]
  70. ^ a b Doxsie, p. 1
  71. ^ Stellino, Vito (July 25, 1968). "McGinniny Eyes Drysdale's 'Record'". Frederick Daily Leader. United Press International. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  72. St. Petersburg Times
    . Associated Press. January 3, 1946. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  73. ^ Stein, Harry (July 1, 1976). "All-Time All-Star Argument Starter". Esquire.
  74. ISBN 0688031838
    .
  75. ISBN 0517543001
    .
  76. ^ Sullivan, Paul (June 1, 1990). "All-time Illinois team talented, colorful". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 29, 2012.

External links

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Achievements
Preceded by All-Time Saves Leader
1907–1909 		Succeeded by

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