James McCutchen McJames (August 27, 1874 – September 23, 1901) was a professional

baseball player Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. He was a right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

over parts of six seasons (1895–1899, 1901) with the Washington Senators,

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, and

Brooklyn Superbas The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Califo ...

. He was the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is den ...

champion in 1897 with the Washington Senators. For his career, he compiled a 79–80 record in 178 appearances, with a 3.43 ERA and 593

Early career

Following his breakout year with the Washington Senators in 1897, McJames was sold to the Baltimore Orioles where he achieved stardom with a 27–15 record, pitched 40 complete games in 42 starts, and had an earned run average of 2.36 in the 1898 season. McJames was second in the league with 178 strikeouts, fourth in ERA, and fourth in complete games. This 1898 Orioles squad has long been considered one of the best teams ever, with McJames as the team's star pitcher. This team included such baseball legends as

John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 189 ...

, Willie Keeler,

Hughie Jennings Hugh Ambrose Jennings (April 2, 1869 – February 1, 1928) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won N ...

, and Wild Bill Donovan. The following season the owners of the

purchased a half interest in the

Brooklyn Bridegrooms The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Califor ...

(dubbed the "Superbas" by the media) and took their best players with them. This included James, Jennings, Keeler, Jay Hughes, and

Joe Kelley Joseph James Kelley (December 9, 1871 – August 14, 1943) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who starred in the outfield of the Baltimore Orioles teams of the 1890s. Making up the nucleus of the Orioles along with J ...

. During the final game of 1899, his first season with the Superbas, James came within one out of throwing a no-hitter in his 4–0 victory over the

Boston Beaneaters Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

. The no-hitter was spoiled by future Hall of Famer

Hugh Duffy Hugh Duffy (November 26, 1866 – October 19, 1954) was an American outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He was a player or player-manager for the Chicago White Stockings, Chicago Pirates, Boston Reds, Boston Beaneaters, Milwaukee ...

with a ninth-inning single.

Personal

McJames was the great-grandson of Judge William Dobein James, who, at age 16 served in the Williamsburgh Militia under General Francis Marion, during the American Revolution. William James later wrote a Life of Marion, which is much used today as a reference because of its first-hand information. Doc McJames was also the great-great grandson of Major John James, chief officer under Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion of Revolutionary War fame. James went by his formal name of James McJames during his first season, then changed to "Doc" for the remainder of his career. It is speculated that he did so to hide knowledge of his baseball career from his parents, as playing baseball was not reputable at the time. He had a clause in each of his major league contracts preventing teams from playing him on Sundays. Before playing professional baseball, McJames attended the University of South Carolina. He was the first Gamecocks baseball player to make it to the major leagues. While at South Carolina, McJames played guard on the school's inaugural football team, in 1892. McJames practiced medicine in

Cheraw, South Carolina Cheraw ( , ) is a city on the Pee Dee River in Chesterfield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,040 at the 2020 census. The greater Cheraw area in the zip code 29520 has a population of 13,689 according to the 2019 ACS ...

. Cheraw was an active baseball town in this period and produced several other notable baseball players. James is buried in Old St. David's Cemetery in Cheraw, South Carolina. McJames was born in

Williamsburg County, South Carolina Williamsburg County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census its population was 31,026. The county seat and largest city is Kingstree. After a previous incarnation of Williamsburg County, the current county ...

. At the peak of his career, he attended medical school at the Charleston Medical College (now Medical University of South Carolina) in the off-season, graduating after three years in 1900.

Death

McJames later left baseball to briefly practice medicine with his father and brother in South Carolina. While making a house call, McJames was thrown from a horse-drawn carriage and within a month died from complications. He was 27 years old.

External links

SABR bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McJames, Doc 1874 births 1901 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from South Carolina Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Baltimore Orioles (NL) players Brooklyn Superbas players National League strikeout champions People from Williamsburg County, South Carolina South Carolina Gamecocks football players Road incident deaths in South Carolina Petersburg Farmers players 19th-century baseball players South Carolina Gamecocks baseball players Medical University of South Carolina alumni Tuberculosis deaths in South Carolina 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis

Early career

Personal

Death

See also

External links