James Alexander Devlin (June 6, 1849 – October 10, 1883) was an American

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 (A ...

player who played mainly as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

early in his career, then as a

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 ...

in the latter part. He played for three teams during his five-year career; the

Philadelphia White Stockings The Philadelphia White Stockings were an early professional baseball team. They were a member of the National Association from 1873 to 1875. Their home games were played at the Jefferson Street Grounds. They were managed by Fergy Malone, Jimm ...

and the Chicago White Stockings of the National Association, and the

Louisville Grays The Louisville Grays were a 19th-century United States baseball team and charter member of the National League, based in Louisville, Kentucky. They played two seasons, 1876 and 1877, and compiled a record of 65–61. Their home games were a ...

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 ...

. However, after admitting to throwing games and costing the Grays the pennant in the

1877 Louisville Grays scandal The 1877 Louisville Grays scandal was an incident in which members of the Louisville Grays baseball team accepted money to lose games. Four players – Bill Craver, Jim Devlin, George Hall, and Al Nichols – were subsequently banned from professi ...

, he and three of his teammates were banished permanently from Major League Baseball.

Career

Jim Devlin began his career in the first organized professional league, the National Association, as an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

for his hometown Philadelphia White Stockings team in 1873, and the Chicago White Stockings in the 1874 and 1875 seasons. In 1876, the National Association folded and was replaced by the

that lives on to this day. In this year, Devlin began pitching for the Louisville Grays, starting 68 games with an impeccable 1.56

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 ...

and leading the Grays in

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

with .315. His best pitch was a "drop pitch", now known as a sinker, which Devlin may have been the first to throw. In 1877, Devlin, the only pitcher on the roster, threw every pitch of his team's 61 games, the only pitcher ever to do so.

Banishment

Led by Devlin and slugger

George Hall George Hall may refer to: People The arts * George Hall (actor) (1916–2002), Canadian-American actor * George Hall (musician) (c. 1893 – c. 1989), American bandleader * George Hall (cartoonist) (born 1960), Australian comic book writer and ...

, the Grays opened up a four-game lead in the NL pennant race by mid-August. However, the Grays suffered a horrendous road trip and endured a seven-game losing streak, which was characterized by uncharacteristic "bonehead" plays and poor pitching. The Grays relinquished their lead and eventually finished second, seven games behind the Boston Red Caps (who tore up the league afterwards, winning 20 of 21 games to end the season). Meanwhile, certain Grays were seen around town wearing fancy new jewelry and ostentatiously dining at exclusive restaurants. At the end of the season, suspicion arose that players were being paid to intentionally lose games. This suspicion increased as the players performed very well in post-season exhibition matches and as the ''Louisville Courier-Journal'' discovered that utility infielder Al Nichols had received an abnormally high number of

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

s. ''Courier-Journal'' writer John Haldeman, who was the son of the team president and sometimes played second base in the team's exhibition games, was the first to publicly accuse the Grays of throwing games. Team vice president Charles Chase, who had earlier received but disregarded telegrams informing him that gamblers were betting against the Grays in certain games, began an investigation. Devlin and Hall confessed, and Chase demanded that his players allow him to inspect their telegrams. The telegrams confirmed that Nichols was coordinating the games with New York gamblers. Bill Craver, the team's

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 was the only player to deny the request, citing lack of pay, and who carried a bad reputation from his days in the National Association, was presumed guilty by association and was suspended.

William Hulbert William Ambrose Hulbert (October 23, 1832 – April 10, 1882) was one of the founders of the National League, recognized as baseball's first major league, and was also the president of the Chicago White Stockings franchise. Biography Born in Bu ...

, the president of the National League, decided to make a stand against gambling. He immediately banned Devlin, Hall, Nichols, and Craver for life. Craver, against whom no evidence of gambling has ever been found, was outraged and appealed the suspension. Devlin also appealed to the League for reinstatement every year for the rest of his life. However, Hulbert remained resolute and none of the Louisville Four ever played major league baseball again (according to legend, Devlin literally begged, on his knees, for another chance; Hulbert responded by giving Devlin a fifty-dollar bill (); "This is what I think of you personally, Jim", the league president supposedly said, " t, damn you, you have thrown a game, you are dishonest, and this National League will not stand for it!"). Devlin, who found work in Philadelphia as a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

, died poor of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

in 1883 and was survived by a wife and son. He is interred at New Cathedral Cemetery in Philadelphia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Devlin, Jim 1849 births 1883 deaths 19th-century baseball players 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Major League Baseball controversies Major League Baseball pitchers Philadelphia White Stockings players Chicago White Stockings players Louisville Grays players National League strikeout champions San Francisco Athletics players Baseball players from Philadelphia Sportspeople banned for life Philadelphia Police Department officers Tuberculosis deaths in Pennsylvania Watertown Athletics players

Career

Banishment

See also

References

External links