Ed Delahanty
Encyclopedia
Edward James Delahanty nicknamed "Big Ed", was a Major League Baseball
player from 1888 to 1903 for the Philadelphia Quakers
, Philadelphia Phillies
, Cleveland Infants
and Washington Senators, and was known as one of the early great power hitters in the game.
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.
native nicknamed "Big Ed," Delahanty was an outfielder and powerful right-handed batter in the 1890s. Crazy Schmit
, who pitched for the Giants and Orioles, said of him, "When you pitch to (Ed) Delahanty, you just want to shut your eyes, say a prayer and chuck the ball. The Lord only knows what'll happen after that." (quoted in Autumn Glory by Louis P. Masur) Ed Delahanty was also the most prominent member of the largest group of siblings ever to play in the major leagues: brothers Frank
, Jim
, Joe
and Tom
also spent time in the majors.
He attended Cleveland's Central High School
and went on to college at St. Joseph's. Delahanty signed on to first play professional baseball with Mansfield of the Ohio State League
in 1887. Delahanty also played minor league ball in Wheeling, West Virginia before the Phillies obtained him as a replacement for Charlie Ferguson
. Ferguson had died early in 1888 from typhoid fever
, and Ed was originally brought in to fill in for him at second base.
in the National League
, playing 74 games that season with an uncharacteristically low .228 average
, 1 HR
, and 31 RBI
s. The next year, in 56 games, he raised his average to .293. In 1890 he jumped to the Players' League, but returned to the Phillies the next year when that league folded. After a healthy .306, 6 HR, 91 RBI season in 1892, Delahanty blossomed in 1893 with .368, 19 HRs and 146 RBIs, narrowly missing the Triple Crown
(teammates Billy Hamilton and Sam Thompson
led the league in batting with .380 and .370 respectively).
Between 1894 and 1896 Delahanty compiled astonishing batting marks: .407, 4 HR, 131 RBI; .404, 11 HR, 106 RBI; .397, 13 HR, 126 RBI. In 1894 despite his high average of .407, the batting title went to Hugh Duffy
with a major league record-setting .440. The 1894 Phillies outfield featuring Delahanty had a big season, with all four players averaging over .400. That season, Delahanty hit .407, Sam Thompson batted .407, Billy Hamilton .404 and spare outfielder Tuck Turner
finished second to Hugh Duffy
in hitting at .416. Delahanty won his first batting title in 1899 with a .410 batting average, adding nine homers and 137 RBIs and becoming the first player in major league history to hit .400 three times.
On July 13, 1896, Delahanty hit four home runs in a game, being only the second player to do so (Bobby Lowe
was the first in 1894), the only player ever to do so with four inside-the-park homers, and the first one to do so in a losing effort. (The Phillies lost the game, 9-8.) Bob Horner, in , is the only other MLB
player to have hit four home runs in a losing effort. Later, in 1899, Delahanty hit four doubles in the same game. He remains the only man with a four-homer game to his credit to also have a game in which he hit four doubles. The same year Delahanty collected hits in 10 consecutive at bats, and in the 1890 and '94 seasons, he tallied six-hit games. After switching to the new American League
in 1902, playing for the Washington Senators
, Delahanty won his second batting title with a .376 mark. To date, he is the only man to win a batting title in both major leagues.
In his 16 seasons with Philadelphia, Cleveland and Washington, Delahanty batted .346, with 101 HRs and 1464 RBIs, 522 doubles, 185 triples and 455 stolen base
s. He also led the league in slugging average and runs batted in three times each, and batted over .400 three times. In the years since, Rogers Hornsby
has been the only 3-time .400-hitter in the National League (1922, 1924–25). His lifetime batting average of .346 ranks fifth all-time behind Ty Cobb
(.366), Rogers Hornsby
(.359), Joe Jackson
(.356). and Lefty O'Doul
(.349).
While with the Phillies, Delahanty played under manager Harry Wright
, the man who assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings
. Wright managed the Phillies with Delahanty for four seasons, from 1890 to 1893, with the two and their fine supporting cast leading the Phils to "first division" finishes during those years, though the team never won a pennant.
in 1903. He was apparently kicked off a train by the train's conductor for being drunk and disorderly. The conductor said Delahanty was brandishing a straight razor and threatening passengers. After being kicked off the train, Delahanty started his way across the International Bridge
connecting Buffalo, NY with Fort Erie
(near Niagara Falls) and fell or jumped off the bridge (some accounts say Ed was yelling about death that night).. Whether "Big Ed" died from his plunge over the Falls, or drowned on the way to the Falls is uncertain.
A study of the tragedy appeared with the publication of July 2, 1903: The Mysterious Death of Big Ed Delahanty, by Mike Sowell
(New York, Toronto, MacMillan Publishing Co., 1992). Sowell presents the evidence of a drunken accident, suicide, and even possibly a robbery murder (there were reports of a mysterious man following Delahanty).
and Allan Zullo
's series, "The Baseball Hall of Shame." In July 1892, when Delahanty's Phillies hosted Cap Anson
's Chicago White Stockings at Philadelphia's Huntingdon Street Grounds (aka National League Park), Anson hit a fly ball to center in the top of the eighth inning. The ball hit a pole and landed right in the "doghouse," a feature unbeknownst to everyone then until that moment; it was used to store numbers for the manually-run scoreboard. Delahanty tried to get the ball (it was still in play) by first reaching over the doghouse, then crawling down into it, but on the latter attempt, he got stuck, and by the time teammate Sam Thompson
had freed Delahanty from the area, Anson crossed home plate on what the "Baseball Hall of Shame" book calls an "inside-the-doghouse home run."
, Delahanty's Tavern On The Square, named in his memory. His photograph and life story line the walls and menus inside.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player from 1888 to 1903 for the Philadelphia Quakers
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
, Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
, Cleveland Infants
Cleveland Infants
The Cleveland Infants were a one-year baseball team in the Players' League. Owned by Al Johnson, the Infants finished , their lone season, with 55 wins and 75 losses...
and Washington Senators, and was known as one of the early great power hitters in the game.
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.
Early life
A Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
native nicknamed "Big Ed," Delahanty was an outfielder and powerful right-handed batter in the 1890s. Crazy Schmit
Crazy Schmit
Frederick M. "Crazy" Schmit was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, Baltimore Orioles, New York Giants, Cleveland Spiders, and Baltimore Orioles. At the time of the 1910 United States Census, Schmit was livign in Chicago with his wife Mary and their three...
, who pitched for the Giants and Orioles, said of him, "When you pitch to (Ed) Delahanty, you just want to shut your eyes, say a prayer and chuck the ball. The Lord only knows what'll happen after that." (quoted in Autumn Glory by Louis P. Masur) Ed Delahanty was also the most prominent member of the largest group of siblings ever to play in the major leagues: brothers Frank
Frank Delahanty
Frank George Delahanty , was a professional baseball player who played outfielder in the Major Leagues from -. He would play for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Buffalo Buffeds, and Pittsburgh Rebels...
, Jim
Jim Delahanty
James Christopher Delahanty was a second baseman in Major League Baseball. He played thirteen seasons with eight clubs: the Chicago Orphans , New York Giants , Boston Beaneaters , Cincinnati Reds , St. Louis Browns , Washington Senators , Detroit Tigers , and Brooklyn Tip-Tops...
, Joe
Joe Delahanty
Joseph Nicholas Delahanty , was a professional baseball player who played outfielder in the major leagues from 1907-1909. He was one of five Delahanty brothers to play in the majors....
and Tom
Tom Delahanty
Thomas James Delahanty , was a professional baseball player who played infielder in the Major Leagues from -. He would play for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Spiders, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Louisville Colonels.Tom Delahanty was one of five Delahanty brothers to play in the major...
also spent time in the majors.
He attended Cleveland's Central High School
East Technical High School
East Technical High School or East Tech is a secondary school under the operation of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in Cleveland, Ohio.-History:...
and went on to college at St. Joseph's. Delahanty signed on to first play professional baseball with Mansfield of the Ohio State League
Ohio State League
The first Ohio State League was a baseball league in 1887 before changing names to the Tri-State League.The first 20th century Ohio State League started in 1908 as a class D loop and ran through 1916. Another Ohio State League was formed in 1936 and ran through 1947 except for a break in '42-'43...
in 1887. Delahanty also played minor league ball in Wheeling, West Virginia before the Phillies obtained him as a replacement for Charlie Ferguson
Charles J. Ferguson
Charles J. "Charlie" Ferguson was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire four-year career for the Philadelphia Quakers...
. Ferguson had died early in 1888 from typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
, and Ed was originally brought in to fill in for him at second base.
Major league career
Ed Delahanty began his career on May 22, 1888, with the Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
in the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
, playing 74 games that season with an uncharacteristically low .228 average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
, 1 HR
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
, and 31 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
s. The next year, in 56 games, he raised his average to .293. In 1890 he jumped to the Players' League, but returned to the Phillies the next year when that league folded. After a healthy .306, 6 HR, 91 RBI season in 1892, Delahanty blossomed in 1893 with .368, 19 HRs and 146 RBIs, narrowly missing the Triple Crown
Triple crown (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, a player earns the Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories. For batters, a player must lead the league in home runs, run batted in , and batting average; pitchers must lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average...
(teammates Billy Hamilton and Sam Thompson
Sam Thompson
Samuel Luther Thompson was a 19th century Major League Baseball player. "Big Sam" was known for his offensive production and was second on the career home runs list at the time of his retirement...
led the league in batting with .380 and .370 respectively).
Between 1894 and 1896 Delahanty compiled astonishing batting marks: .407, 4 HR, 131 RBI; .404, 11 HR, 106 RBI; .397, 13 HR, 126 RBI. In 1894 despite his high average of .407, the batting title went to Hugh Duffy
Hugh Duffy
Hugh Duffy was a 19th century Major League Baseball player. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.-Career:...
with a major league record-setting .440. The 1894 Phillies outfield featuring Delahanty had a big season, with all four players averaging over .400. That season, Delahanty hit .407, Sam Thompson batted .407, Billy Hamilton .404 and spare outfielder Tuck Turner
Tuck Turner
George A. "Tuck" Turner was a 19th century Major League Baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Browns. Born in West New Brighton, New York, "Tuck" broke into the National League with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1893 at the age of 20...
finished second to Hugh Duffy
Hugh Duffy
Hugh Duffy was a 19th century Major League Baseball player. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.-Career:...
in hitting at .416. Delahanty won his first batting title in 1899 with a .410 batting average, adding nine homers and 137 RBIs and becoming the first player in major league history to hit .400 three times.
On July 13, 1896, Delahanty hit four home runs in a game, being only the second player to do so (Bobby Lowe
Bobby Lowe
Robert Lincoln "Bobby" Lowe , nicknamed "Link", was an American baseball player, coach and scout. He played Major League Baseball for the Boston Beaneaters , Chicago Cubs , Pittsburgh Pirates , and Detroit Tigers...
was the first in 1894), the only player ever to do so with four inside-the-park homers, and the first one to do so in a losing effort. (The Phillies lost the game, 9-8.) Bob Horner, in , is the only other MLB
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player to have hit four home runs in a losing effort. Later, in 1899, Delahanty hit four doubles in the same game. He remains the only man with a four-homer game to his credit to also have a game in which he hit four doubles. The same year Delahanty collected hits in 10 consecutive at bats, and in the 1890 and '94 seasons, he tallied six-hit games. After switching to the new American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
in 1902, playing for the Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
, Delahanty won his second batting title with a .376 mark. To date, he is the only man to win a batting title in both major leagues.
In his 16 seasons with Philadelphia, Cleveland and Washington, Delahanty batted .346, with 101 HRs and 1464 RBIs, 522 doubles, 185 triples and 455 stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
s. He also led the league in slugging average and runs batted in three times each, and batted over .400 three times. In the years since, Rogers Hornsby
Rogers Hornsby
Rogers Hornsby, Sr. , nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball . He played for the St. Louis Cardinals , New York Giants , Boston Braves , Chicago Cubs , and St. Louis Browns...
has been the only 3-time .400-hitter in the National League (1922, 1924–25). His lifetime batting average of .346 ranks fifth all-time behind Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...
(.366), Rogers Hornsby
Rogers Hornsby
Rogers Hornsby, Sr. , nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball . He played for the St. Louis Cardinals , New York Giants , Boston Braves , Chicago Cubs , and St. Louis Browns...
(.359), Joe Jackson
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Joseph Jefferson Jackson , nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball in the early part of the 20th century...
(.356). and Lefty O'Doul
Lefty O'Doul
Francis Joseph "Lefty" O'Doul was an American Major League Baseball player who went on to become an extraordinarily successful manager in the minor leagues, and also a vital figure in the establishment of professional baseball in Japan.-Player:Born in San Francisco, California, O'Doul began his...
(.349).
While with the Phillies, Delahanty played under manager Harry Wright
Harry Wright
William Henry "Harry" Wright was an English-born American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings...
, the man who assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings
Cincinnati Red Stockings
The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first fully professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players 1867–1870, a time of a transition that ambitious Cincinnati,...
. Wright managed the Phillies with Delahanty for four seasons, from 1890 to 1893, with the two and their fine supporting cast leading the Phils to "first division" finishes during those years, though the team never won a pennant.
Niagara Falls incident
Delahanty died when he was swept over Niagara FallsNiagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
in 1903. He was apparently kicked off a train by the train's conductor for being drunk and disorderly. The conductor said Delahanty was brandishing a straight razor and threatening passengers. After being kicked off the train, Delahanty started his way across the International Bridge
International Railway Bridge
The International Railway Bridge carries a railway line across the Niagara River between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York. It was built in 1873 for the International Bridge Company by Casimir Stanislaus Gzowski and D.L...
connecting Buffalo, NY with Fort Erie
Fort Erie
Fort Erie was the first British fort to be constructed as part of a network developed after the Seven Years' War was concluded by the Treaty of Paris at which time all of New France had been ceded to Great Britain...
(near Niagara Falls) and fell or jumped off the bridge (some accounts say Ed was yelling about death that night).. Whether "Big Ed" died from his plunge over the Falls, or drowned on the way to the Falls is uncertain.
A study of the tragedy appeared with the publication of July 2, 1903: The Mysterious Death of Big Ed Delahanty, by Mike Sowell
Mike Sowell
Mike Sowell is a sports historian and the author of three baseball books, including The Pitch That Killed about Ray Chapman and Carl Mays. Named a Notable Book of the Year by The New York Times in 1989, and winner of the CASEY Award for best baseball book of 1989, The Pitch That Killed tells the...
(New York, Toronto, MacMillan Publishing Co., 1992). Sowell presents the evidence of a drunken accident, suicide, and even possibly a robbery murder (there were reports of a mysterious man following Delahanty).
"The Most Shameful Home Runs of All Time"
Delahanty was also the victim behind one of "The Most Shameful Home Runs of All Time" according to the third edition of Bruce NashBruce Nash
Bruce Mitchell Nash is an American reality television producer.Nash first entered reality TV with Before They Were Stars. His credits include the Sci Fi Channel series Who Wants to Be a Superhero? with Stan Lee; World's Most Amazing Videos for Spike TV; Most Shocking as well as Most Daring for...
and Allan Zullo
Allan Zullo
Allan Zullo is an American non-fiction writer. He is the author or co-author of more than eighty paperbacks for adults and children.A native of Rockford, Illinois, Zullo graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1969 with a degree in journalism...
's series, "The Baseball Hall of Shame." In July 1892, when Delahanty's Phillies hosted Cap Anson
Cap Anson
Adrian Constantine Anson , nicknamed "Cap" and "Pop", was a National Association and Major League Baseball first baseman...
's Chicago White Stockings at Philadelphia's Huntingdon Street Grounds (aka National League Park), Anson hit a fly ball to center in the top of the eighth inning. The ball hit a pole and landed right in the "doghouse," a feature unbeknownst to everyone then until that moment; it was used to store numbers for the manually-run scoreboard. Delahanty tried to get the ball (it was still in play) by first reaching over the doghouse, then crawling down into it, but on the latter attempt, he got stuck, and by the time teammate Sam Thompson
Sam Thompson
Samuel Luther Thompson was a 19th century Major League Baseball player. "Big Sam" was known for his offensive production and was second on the career home runs list at the time of his retirement...
had freed Delahanty from the area, Anson crossed home plate on what the "Baseball Hall of Shame" book calls an "inside-the-doghouse home run."
Legacy
There is a sports bar in Phillipsburg, New JerseyPhillipsburg, New Jersey
Phillipsburg, known locally as P'burg, is a town in Warren County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 14,950....
, Delahanty's Tavern On The Square, named in his memory. His photograph and life story line the walls and menus inside.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball doubles records
- List of Major League Baseball players with 2,000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
- List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1,000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1,000 runs batted in
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
- List of Major League Baseball triples champions
- List of Major League Baseball home run champions
- List of Major League Baseball runs batted in champions
- List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions
- List of Major League Baseball hitters with four home runs in one game
External links
- Dead Ball Era (NY Times articles after his death)
- Ed Delahanty at Findagrave.com