Thomas Joseph "Buck" O'Brien (May 9, 1882 – July 25, 1959) was a starting pitcher in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. O'Brien got a late start in professional baseball. However, as a

spitball A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance such as saliva or petroleum jelly. This technique alters the wind resistance and weight on one side of the ball, causing it to m ...

er, he did have tremendous success for a few years. In 1910, when he was 28 years old, he went 20–10 for Hartford of the Connecticut State League. In 1911, he was 26–7 for the Western League's Denver Grizzlies, leading the league in winning percentage and strikeouts. The Grizzlies won 111 games en route to the league championship."1911 Denver Grizzlies"
. ''minorleaguebaseball.com''. Retrieved 2010-10-27. In September of that year, O'Brien made his major league debut with the Red Sox and went 5–1 with a 0.38

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. The next season, he was in the starting rotation, including the first game ever played at Fenway Park on April 20, 1912.
"Boston Red Sox – 1912 baseballlibrary.com". In 34 starts and 275 innings pitched, O'Brien won 20 games with a 2.58 ERA and 115 strikeouts; he finished in the top 10 in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

in all five categories. The Red Sox went 105–47 to win the AL pennant. O'Brien started Game 3 of the

1912 World Series The 1912 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1912 season. The ninth edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Boston Red Sox and the National League champion New York Giants. The R ...

against the New York Giants, but lost. Boston eventually took a 3–1 series lead, with ace pitcher Smokey Joe Wood slated to start Game 6. However, club owner

Jimmy McAleer James Robert "Loafer" McAleer (July 10, 1864April 29, 1931) was an American center fielder, manager, and stockholder in Major League Baseball who assisted in establishing the American League. He spent most of his 13-season playing career with t ...

wanted the series to go back to Boston so he could get the gate receipts; he ordered manager

Jake Stahl Garland "Jake" Stahl (April 13, 1879 – September 18, 1922) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball with the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, and New York Highlanders. Biography A graduate of the University of ...

to start O'Brien instead of Wood. Buck, not knowing that he was going to pitch, was hungover the day of the game. He gave up three earned runs in the first inning, and Boston lost. Despite this, the Red Sox ended up defeating the Giants. By the next season, hitters seemed to have O'Brien's spitball figured out. He went 4–9 before being sold to the White Sox, and just one year after winning 20 games, his major league career ended. O'Brien died in Boston at age 77.

Personal life

Buck had five sons, Thomas "Buck" O’Brien, Billy O’Brien who was killed in the Battle of the Bulge, Robert O’Brien (who was killed in an accident as a child), Francis, and John (Bucky) O’Brien. He also had three daughters Rose Moran, Marguerite O’Brien, and Joan Murray. John O’Brien had six children, Jacqueline Levangie (three children Philip, Shannon, and Tara); Kathleen Johnson (one child Sean, and Sean's daughter Calla); Joseph O’Brien (hall of fame member at Boston College for pitching and quarterback, two sons Joseph and Michael), GiGi Green (three sons Joe, Patrick, and Brendan); John O’Brien (three girls Genevieve, KellyRose, and Brenna); and Thomas J. O’Brien (daughter Brehan and son Jake who was captain of BU's basketball team.) Rose Moran had four children, Billy, Brian, Maureen, and Nancy. Joan Murray had three, Peter, Steven, and Christine.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Buck 1882 births 1959 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox players Evansville River Rats players Hartford Senators players Denver Grizzlies (baseball) players Baseball players from Massachusetts Sportspeople from Brockton, Massachusetts Vaudeville performers