James Joseph Collins (January 16, 1870 – March 6, 1943) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional

baseball 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 ...

player. He played 14 seasons 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), ...

. Collins was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945. Collins was especially regarded for his defense. He was best known for his ability to field a bunt—prior to his debut, it was the

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 fielded bunts down the third base line—and is regarded as a pioneer of the modern defensive play of a third baseman. As of 2012, he is second all-time in putouts by a third baseman behind Brooks Robinson. At the plate, Collins finished his career with 65

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 1055 runs scored, 983 RBI and a .294

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. Collins was also the first manager of 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 ...

franchise, then known as the Boston Americans. He was the winning manager in the first-ever

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

, as Boston defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1903 World Series, five games to three.

Early life

Jimmy Collins was born in Niagara Falls, New York. After graduating from St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, he went to work for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad and played baseball in the Buffalo City League.

Playing career

Minor leagues

Collins began his

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 ...

career with the minor league

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 ...

of the Eastern League, the forerunner of the current International League, in 1893. That season, he was used primarily as a

, batting .286 in 76 games. In 1894, Collins was moved to 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 ...

by the Bisons. He batted .352 with nine home runs in 125 games, and after the season his contract was purchased by the Boston Beaneaters for $500.Jimmy Collins Statistics and History
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Major league debut

Collins began his major league career as a

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

, playing ten games at the position with the Beaneaters in 1895. On May 19, he was loaned to the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

, again for $500. He was soon made the team's starting third baseman, batting .279 over the remainder of the season. However, his larger impact was on defense, where he played in on the grass rather than back to cut down on the number of bunt hits.

National League star

Collins was returned to the Beaneaters after the 1895 season. Joe Harrington was the club's starting third baseman at the beginning of the season, but Collins soon asserted himself as the starter, and Harrington was released in July. Boston Beaneaters infield

Collins asserted himself as a skilled player in 1897 when he held a .346

and knocked in 132 runs. He led the league in both putouts and

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s as well, a feat he would duplicate in 1900. He followed with an equally impressive 1898 season, in which he hit .328—seventh in the league—drove in 111 runs and belted a league-high 15

Jumping to the American League

Following the 1900 season, Collins, who was by now regarded as the best third baseman in the game, was offered the

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

's job with the

Boston Americans 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 eight ...

of the new

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 ...

. He accepted the job, which came with a salary of $5,500, a $3,500 signing bonus, and a cut of the team's profits, despite efforts by Beaneaters owner Arthur Soden to keep him. The two traded accusations in the press, and Collins went further, accusing National League owners of conspiring to hold down salaries, stating "I would not go back now if they offered me the whole outfit." Collins recruited other National League stars for the Americans' roster, including

Cy Young Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family's farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career. Young entered th ...

, and in his first season as

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

guided the team to a second-place finish, four games behind 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 ...

First World Series

In 1902, Collins was limited to 108 games by injury, and the Americans finished third. He did hit the team's first ever inside-the-park grand slam however. The next season, Collins led the Americans to their first American League pennant, winning the league by games over the Philadelphia Athletics. With an agreement in place for the champions of the American and National Leagues to meet in a best-of-nine "

", Boston represented the Junior Circuit. After losing two out of three at home to start the series, then losing the first game in Pittsburgh, the Americans won the next three in Pittsburgh, then returned home to win Game Eight in Boston to become the first-ever World Series Champions. Collins himself batted .250 in the Series, with a pair of

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

s and five runs scored.

Remaining career

The Americans won the pennant again in 1904, with Collins batting .271 and leading the league in putouts for the fifth time in eight seasons. However, the Americans would not get the opportunity to defend their title, 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 1890 ...

and the New York Giants refused to play them in the postseason. In 1905, the Americans slipped to fourth place, and Collins clashed with team president John I. Taylor, reportedly quitting on the team during the season. As a player, Collins batted .276, but again missed time due to injury. In 1906, Collins found himself in hot water, as not only were the Americans in last, but he himself was suspended twice, and was eventually was replaced as manager by

Chick Stahl Charles Sylvester "Chick" Stahl (January 10, 1873 – March 28, 1907) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball who was among the most feared and consistent hitters in his time. Stahl was an active major-league player when he committed ...

. He also missed the end of the season with a knee injury. Collins began the 1907 season with Boston, but it was only a matter of time before he departed. For reasons that have never become clear, Stahl had committed suicide during spring training; instead of Collins, the Americans turned to Cy Young as manager, following by George Huff, and then

Bob Unglaub Robert Alexander Unglaub (July 31, 1880 – November 29, 1916) was an American first baseman, utility infielder and manager in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Highlanders, Boston Americans, and Washington Senators. He batte ...

, all within the first three months of the season. After playing 41 games with the Americans, Collins was traded to the Philadelphia Athletics in June for infielder John Knight. While he batted .278, he had a career-low (to that point) .330 slugging percentage, and failed to hit a home run for the first time in his career. In 1908, he slumped even further, batting just .217, and was let go. After his major league career ended, Collins continued to play and manage in the minor leagues. He spent 1909 with the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the

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, then spent two seasons with the

Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National Leag ...

in the Eastern League before retiring.

Honors

When Collins was inducted into the Hall of Fame in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

, he was the first to be chosen primarily as a third baseman. In 1981,

Lawrence Ritter Lawrence Stanley Ritter (May 23, 1922 – February 15, 2004) was an American writer whose specialties were economics and baseball. Ritter was a professor of economics and finance, and chairman of the Department of Finance at the Graduate School ...

and

Donald Honig Donald Martin Honig (born 1931 in New York City) is a novelist, historian and editor who mostly writes about baseball. While a member of the Bobo Newsom Memorial Society, an informal group of writers, Honig attempted to convince Lawrence Ritter t ...

included him in their book ''The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time''. Collins became a charter member of the

Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame The Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame was started by the Buffalo Bisons organization in 1985 to honor former members of the Buffalo Bisons (1878, 1887–1888), Buffalo Bisons (1879–1885), Buffalo Bisons (1886–1970), Buffalo Bisons (1890), Buffalo ...

in 1985. In a 1976 '' Esquire'' magazine article, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter", consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Because of space limitations the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

team, including Collins as third baseman, was omitted.

Managerial record

* Remained as a player only

Personal life

Jimmy Collins married Sarah Murphy in 1907, and the couple had two daughters. After his retirement from baseball, they moved back to Buffalo, where Collins worked for the Buffalo Parks Department. Collins died of pneumonia on March 6, 1943 at the age of 73.

In popular culture

Boston-based Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys recorded the song "Jimmy Collins' Wake" on their 2013 album ''

Signed and Sealed in Blood ''Signed and Sealed in Blood'' is the eighth studio album by the Dropkick Murphys. The album was released on January 8, 2013 on the band's Born & Bred Records label. The album debuted at No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart, the third high ...

''. The song, originally written by Richard Johnson, recounts Collins' wake in Buffalo, New York, at what is currently K.O. Bar and Grill on Delaware Ave.

References

External links

*
Collins Third Base Stylist; Couldn't Hit Ball Past Him
by

Harry Grayson Harry Markey Grayson (May 10, 1894 – September 30, 1968) was an American sportswriter. He was the sports editor of the Newspaper Enterprise Association from 1934 to 1963. Selected works by Grayson BaseballWagner and Mathewson Top National Loop ...

, June 2, 1943 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Jimmy 1870 births 1943 deaths National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Major League Baseball third basemen Boston Beaneaters players Louisville Colonels players Boston Americans players Philadelphia Athletics players National League home run champions Boston Red Sox managers Major League Baseball player-managers Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Providence Grays (minor league) players Minor league baseball managers Minneapolis Millers (baseball) managers Baseball players from Buffalo, New York 19th-century baseball players St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute alumni World Series-winning managers