Charles Timothy O'Leary (October 15, 1875 – January 6, 1941) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

who played eleven seasons with the Detroit Tigers (1904–1912),

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1913), and

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

(1934) of

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), ...

(MLB).

Early life

Born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to Irish immigrants Timothy and Ellen O’Leary, who had 16 children (11 boys). O'Leary worked at age 16 for a clothing company and played on the company's semi-pro baseball team. His talent as a middle infielder and scrappy hitter came to the attention of

Charles Comiskey Charles Albert Comiskey (August 15, 1859 – October 26, 1931), nicknamed "Commy" or "The Old Roman", was an American Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League, and was also ...

, owner of the

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 ...

. Though there is no independent verification, O'Leary reportedly signed briefly with the White Sox, only to have his arm broken from a pitched ball thrown by '

fireballer Power pitcher is a term in baseball for a pitcher who relies on pitch velocity at the expense of accuracy. Power pitchers usually record a high number of strikeouts, and statistics such as strikeouts per 9 innings pitched are common measures of ...

' and

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Rube Waddell George Edward Waddell (October 13, 1876 – April 1, 1914) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-hander, he played for 13 years, with the Louisville Colonels, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Orphans in the National ...

Major leagues

O'Leary made his major league debut on April 14, 1904, with the Tigers. He was Detroit's starting shortstop from 1904 to 1907 and became a backup shortstop and utility infielder from 1908–1912. In the off-season, O'Leary and teammate Germany Schaefer, known as one of baseball's zaniest characters, worked as a comic vaudeville act. The O'Leary-Schaefer vaudeville act is said to have inspired two Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals: the forgotten 1930 film ''They Learned About Women'', featuring the noted vaudeville act Van and Schenck, plus Busby Berkeley's last film, ''Take Me Out to the Ballgame (1949 film), Take Me Out to the Ballgame'' (1949), with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. Not known for his hitting, O'Leary had a career batting average (baseball), batting average of .226. After finishing his playing career in 1913 with the

, O'Leary became a player-manager in the minor and semi-pro leagues for several years, including in San Francisco, St. Paul, San Antonio, and Chicago, until he was offered a coaching job in 1920 by his close friend, Miller Huggins, manager of the New York Yankees. After a 17–0 victory over the Washington Senators (1901–1960), Washington Senators on July 6, 1920, O'Leary was returning to New York in a car driven by Babe Ruth, along with Ruth's wife Helen, rookie outfielder Frank Gleich, and second-string catcher Fred Hofmann. Ruth lost control of the car, and O'Leary was ejected from the vehicle, although he suffered only minor injuries. He then coached with the Yankees for 10 years, during which period they won six pennants and two World Series, including the great 1927 New York Yankees season, 1927 Yankees team. O'Leary then coached with the Chicago Cubs under Rogers Hornsby, and with the St. Louis Browns. On September 30, 1934, several weeks shy of his 59th birthday, O'Leary was brought out of retirement by the Browns. In a pinch-hitting appearance, he singled and scored, becoming both the oldest Major League Baseball player to collect a hit (baseball), hit and to score a run (baseball), run. He died from peritonitis in Chicago on January 6, 1941, and was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Chicago), Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Date of birth

During his career, O'Leary claimed to have been born in 1882. However, in 2010, a researcher for the Society for American Baseball Research found him in the 1880 census. His draft record for World War I, which showed that he was born in 1875, was subsequently located. This made him the second oldest major league baseball player to appear in a game, after Satchel Paige.

References

External links

Baseball-Reference.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oleary, Charley Detroit Tigers players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Louis Browns players Major League Baseball shortstops New York Yankees coaches Sportspeople from Chicago Baseball players from Chicago Vaudeville performers 1875 births 1941 deaths Chicago Cubs coaches St. Louis Browns coaches St. Louis Cardinals coaches Chicago White Stockings (minor league) players Des Moines Hawkeyes players Des Moines Midgets players Des Moines Undertakers players Indianapolis Indians managers Indianapolis Indians players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Jersey City Skeeters players San Antonio Bronchos players

Early life

Major leagues

Date of birth

See also

References

External links