- Roger Bresnahan
Infobox MLB retired
name=Roger Bresnahan
position=catcher ,player-manager
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=June 11 ,1879 ,Toledo, Ohio
deathdate=death date and age|1944|12|4|1879|6|11, Toledo, Ohio
debutdate=August 27
debutyear= 1897
debutteam= Washington Senators
finaldate=October 3
finalyear=1915
finalteam=Chicago Cubs
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.279
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=1252
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=530
teams=As Player
* Washington Senators (1897)
* Chicago Orphans/Cubs (1900, 1913-1915)
* Baltimore Orioles (1901-1902)
* New York Giants (1902-1908)
*St. Louis Cardinals (1909-1912)As Manager
*St. Louis Cardinals (1909-1912)
*Chicago Cubs (1915)
highlights=
*World Series Champion: 1905
* Managerial record: 328-432
* 2 seasons with a .300+ batting average
hofdate=by|1945
hofmethod=Veteran's CommitteeRoger Philip Bresnahan (
June 11 ,1879 –December 4 ,1944 ), nicknamed "The Duke ofTralee " for his Irish roots, [ [http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/nsnmsna/118945 Have you heard of this Player; Nicknames and 18] from the "Sporting News "] was an American player inMajor League Baseball who starred primarily as acatcher and aplayer-manager .He introduced the use of the catcher's
shin guard in 1907 [Suehsdorf, A. D. (1978). "The Great American Baseball Scrapbook", p. 36. Random House. ISBN 0-394-50253-1.] and was elected in 1945 to theBaseball Hall of Fame .Born in
Toledo, Ohio , he began his major league career as apitcher , throwing a six-hitshutout onAugust 27 ,1897 . However, he eventually moved tocatcher (although he could play all nine positions), and was labeled one of the best at that position by managers John McGraw andBranch Rickey . Despite taunts by other players, he experimented with head and thigh protection gear which had been introduced by some college teams, which included the firstMLB batting helmet , and this led to the widespread use of more protection for catchers in the early 20th century. Bresnahan played for the Washington Senators (1897), Chicago Orphans/Cubs (1900, 1913-15), Baltimore Orioles (1901-02), New York Giants (1902-08),St. Louis Cardinals (1909-12), and the Cubs again (1913-1915). In 1430 games, he had abatting average of .279 in 4480 at-bats.Bresnahan had managed the Cardinals while playing for them, and the Cubs in 1915. His overall record was 328-432.
Bresnahan died of a heart attack at his home in Toledo at age 65, and was elected to the Hall of Fame the following year; decades later, Sabermetrician
Bill James said it was an honor that Bresnahan did not deserve. [ [http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/bill-james-answers-all-your-baseball-questions/#more-1967 Bill James Answers All Your Baseball Questions] , an April 2008 entry from the "Freakonomics " blog]Bresnahan was buried in Calvary (Roman Catholic) Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio.
1911 train wreck
On
July 11 ,1911 , with the Cards only three games out of first place in early July, the team was involved in a train wreck while riding the "Federal Express" fromPhiladelphia to Boston. [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/chronology/1911JULY.stm#day11 Tuesday, July 11th] from BaseballLibrary.com] Fourteen passengers were killed after the train derailed and plunged down an convert|18|ft|m|1|sing=on embankment outsideBridgeport, Connecticut . None of the Cardinals were seriously injured, due to a fortuitous pre-trip change in the location of theirPullman car that Bresnahan had requested. The Cardinals helped remove bodies and rescue the injured.Despite posting their first winning season since 1901, the Cardinals never recovered from the incident, finishing a distant fifth.
Commemorations
Bresnahan was mentioned in the poem "Lineup for Yesterday" by
Ogden Nash :Quote box2 |width= 18em |border= 4px |align= right |bgcolor= #FAF0E6 |halign= center | title="Lineup for Yesterday"|quote="B is for Bresnahan" "Back of the plate;" "The Cubs were his love," "and McGraw his hate."
source= — "Ogden Nash ", "Sport" magazine (January 1949) [cite web|title=Baseball Almanac|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/po_line.shtml|accessdate=2008-01-23 ]References
External links
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* [http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Bresnahan.Roger.Obit.html The Deadball Era]
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