Hugh Daily (July 17, 1847 – after 1923), nicknamed "One Arm" Daily, was an Irish born professional 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 ...

who played six seasons, for seven different teams; the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen F ...

, the Cleveland Blues, and the

St. Louis Maroons The St. Louis Maroons were a professional baseball club based in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1884–1886. The club, established by Henry Lucas, were the one near-major league quality entry in the Union Association, a league that lasted only one ...

of 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 ...

Chicago Browns The Chicago Browns/Pittsburgh Stogies (also known as Chicago/Pittsburgh) were a short-lived professional baseball team in the Union Association of 1884. They were to battle the Chicago White Stockings, of the National League, for the Chicago ba ...

and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

of the

Union Association The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelve teams who were in the Association at some poi ...

, and the Cleveland Blues of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. He was known for having a surly disposition and was not well liked by baseball executives, which occasioned his frequent change of teams. However, he was a favourite of fans wherever he played. Daily was successful as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

early in his major league career. In 1883 and 1884, he won 20 or more games each season, while finishing in the top ten among league leaders in major pitching categories such as

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 numb ...

(as calculated retroactively, since E.R.A. was not an official statistic at the time),

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning ...

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, and

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 ...

s. Daily established the pitching record for strikeouts in a season (later surpassed), tied a record by tossing two consecutive one-hitters, broke the record for one-hitters in a season, and threw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

. After his initial three years of success, the final three years of his career were marked by quick decline in his seasonal numbers, and he was gone from organised baseball shortly thereafter. Today he remains a mysterious figure, as there is little record of his activities after his career. It is unclear where he lived and where he died.

Nickname and disposition

His nickname, "One Arm" Daily, is a reference to his left arm; he had lost his left hand to a gun accident earlier in his life. To compensate for this injury, he fixed a special pad over the affected area and caught the baseball by trapping it between the pad and his right hand.Swaine, p. 19 Sometimes, after long games of having to catch baseballs this way, his stump would become sensitive – so sensitive in fact, that he once punched his

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

for not heeding his warning to throw the balls back to him softer.Swaine, p. 22 Daily was well known for having a bad disposition, he has been described as surly, and having a volatile temper.Swaine, p. 20 Other sources add to that: mean,

contempt Contempt is a pattern of attitudes and behaviour, often towards an individual or a group, but sometimes towards an ideology, which has the characteristics of disgust and anger. The word originated in 1393 in Old French contempt, contemps, ...

uous, and uncommunicative. While this behaviour was not well liked by the baseball establishment, he was popular with the home crowds because of his verbal tirades against

umpires An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

and opposing players alike. Some theories attempt to explain Daily's tempestuous behaviour, one of which was put forth by Frank Vaccaro in his 1999 edition of ''The National Pastime''. His theory explains that, in Daily's day, except in cases of injury, for a pitcher to be relieved from his position, another player already in the game would have to relieve him, and the pitcher would have to take a position in the field.Swaine, p. 23 His physical condition did not allow him many opportunities to play any other positions, so this compelled his managers to leave him in the game longer, even when his performance was declining. He was allowed to play in the field on several occasions, when the situation warranted it, as he is credited as playing three

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

, two at second base, and one at

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 ...

Early career

Born in Ireland, Daily first began playing baseball professionally around the Baltimore area, often receiving more lucrative offers to play in more prominent leagues, all of which he declined, preferring to stay in the local area. His reputation, along with actions such as verbally assaulting umpires and fans, forced him to move on to other teams, which landed him in New York City playing for the Metropolitans, which was an all-professional club but had yet to join a major league; they later joined the

in 1883. He became the team's ace pitcher, winning 38

, including notable victories against

Cap Anson Adrian Constantine Anson (April 17, 1852 – April 14, 1922), nicknamed "Cap" (for "Captain") and "Pop", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman. Including his time in the National Association (NA), he played a record 27 ...

's Chicago White Stockings, and most of the other top professional teams in the country at the time.

Major league career

Daily's performance that season caught the eye of Major League teams, and he signed with the

for the 1882 season. Although he shared starts with future Hall of Famer

Pud Galvin James Francis "Pud" Galvin (December 25, 1856 – March 7, 1902) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher in the 19th century. He was MLB's first 300-game winner and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965. Baseball career Ga ...

, he was able to pitch in 29 games, winning 15 of them. He was playing for the Cleveland Blues of the National League when he pitched a no-hitter on 13 September 1883 against the Philadelphia Quakers, a 1–0 victory. He finished the season with a 23–19 win–loss record, and finished in the top ten in several pitching categories. He finished second in the league with two

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s, fifth place with a 2.42 earned run average, seventh in strikeouts with 171, and ninth in the league in wins, games pitched, and games started. However, he did lead the league with 99 walks – a remarkable total, given that in 1882 and 1883 walks were issued after seven balls rather than four. For the 1884 season, he feasted on the upstart Union Association's lack of talent, pitching for the

(which became the Pittsburgh Stogies), and for the

later in the season. He finished with a 28–28 win–loss record, but did have a low 2.43 ERA, and set a few records in that lone season for the Association. Daily struck out a total of 483 batters that season, a record that was surpassed only in 1886 by both

Matt Kilroy Matthew Aloysius "Matches" Kilroy (June 21, 1866 – March 2, 1940) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. In 1886, he had 513 strikeouts, which remains the MLB single-season record. Early life Kilroy was born in Philadelp ...

(513), and

Toad Ramsey Thomas H. "Toad" Ramsey (August 8, 1864 – March 27, 1906) was an American Major League Baseball player who pitched in the majors from to . Ramsey spent his entire career in the American Association, split between two different teams. H ...

(499). Among the season totals, he struck out 19 batters in a game,Thorn, p. 737 on 7 July, tying

Charlie Sweeney Charles Joseph Sweeney (April 13, 1863 – April 4, 1902) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher from 1883 through 1887. He played for the Providence Grays, St. Louis Maroons, and Cleveland Blues, and is best known for his performance in ...

. Unofficially, his reported 19 strikeout game was upgraded to 20Roer, p. 273 when it was discovered that one batter had struck out but reached first base when the pitch got away from the

. This meant that Daily did not just tie the record, but broke it instead (

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

then unofficially tied the mark in 1986). Daily added one more record that season; he set the record for most one-hitters in one season, with four, two of them back to back, which was also itself a record at the time. The record was later matched by

Grover Cleveland Alexander Grover Cleveland Alexander (February 26, 1887 – November 4, 1950), nicknamed "Old Pete", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1911 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. He ...

in 1915. When the Union Association dissolved, Daily had to pay a $500 fine to regain his major league eligibility for the 1885 season, as did all the players who jumped to this new league and were subsequently blacklisted.Swaine, p. 21 He joined the

of the National League, where he only pitched in 11 games, and had a record of 3 wins and 8 losses. The rest of his career included short stints with the 1886

, and the 1887 Cleveland Blues of the American Association. He played his final major league game on 21 August 1887.

Later life

Very few facts are known about his personal life or where and when he died. In the 1910 United States Census, he was recorded as living in Baltimore with two sisters and working as a clerk for a

customs house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

. According to the 1920 United States Census, he was living with his sister, and was a clerk for a hotel. His last known location was 1923 in Baltimore, living in Washington.

Notes

References

*Roer, Mike. 2006. ''Orator O'Rourke: The Life of a Baseball Radical''. McFarland & Company. . *Swaine, Rick. 2004. ''Beating the Breaks: Major League Ballplayers Who Overcame Disabilities''. McFarland & Company. . *Thorn, John. 1997. ''The Complete Armchair Book of Baseball: An All-Star Lineup Celebrates America's National Pastime''. Galahad. .

External links

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