Edward Richard Doheny (November 24, 1873 – December 29, 1916) was an American
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...
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) ...
(MLB). He played for the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
and
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...
from 1895 to 1903. Doheny finished his career with a
win–loss record
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
of 75–83. During his last MLB season, he was declared insane and committed to an
asylum
Asylum may refer to:
Types of asylum
* Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome
* Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute
* Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea
* ...
.
Baseball career
Doheny was born in
Northfield, Vermont
Northfield is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The town lies in a valley within the Green Mountains and has been home to Norwich University since 1866. It contains the village of Northfield, where over half of the population ...
, in 1873. He started his professional baseball career with the New York Giants 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 ...
(NL) in 1895. He signed with the team in September, and that year, he had a win–loss record of 0–3 and a 6.66
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 ...
(ERA).
["Ed Doheny Stats"](_blank)
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
In 1896, Doheny went 6–7 with a 4.49 ERA. In 1897, he went 4–4 with a 2.12 ERA. In 1898, Doheny went 7–19 with a 3.68 ERA and led the NL with 19
wild pitch
In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third st ...
es. In 1899, he went 14–17 with a 4.41 ERA and led the NL with 37
hit by pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...
es and 21 wild pitches. In 1900, he went 4–14 with a 5.45 ERA. In 1901, he went 2–5 with a 4.50 ERA before the Giants released him in July.
Later that month, Doheny signed with the NL's Pittsburgh Pirates. During the rest of the year, he went 6–2 with a 2.00 ERA and helped the Pirates win the NL championship. In 1902, he went 16–4 with a 2.53 ERA and helped the Pirates win the NL championship again.
[Seamus Kearney and Tom Simon]
"Ed Doheny"
sabr.org. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
1903 season
In May 1903, in an away game against the New York Giants, Doheny popped up and then threw his bat in the direction of Giants
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 catcher ...
Frank Bowerman
Frank Eugene Bowerman (December 5, 1868 – November 30, 1948) was an American catcher and manager in Major League Baseball with the Baltimore Orioles, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the New York Giants, and the Boston Doves, as well as a player-manager ...
, angering the crowd. For this, Doheny was suspended for three days.
In July, Doheny left the Pirates and returned to his home in
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.
An encyclopedia (American Engli ...
. He had been acting strangely and was convinced that he was being followed by detectives. As the ''Pittsburg Post'' noted on July 29, "his mind is thought to be deranged".
Doheny returned to the team in August. He pitched well and ended the season with a record of 16–8 and a 3.19 ERA, helping the Pirates win the NL championship. He played his last game on September 7. Doheny continued to suffer from paranoid delusions, and on September 22, his brother took him back home to Andover.
Doheny was then placed under the care of Dr. E. C. Conroy and a nurse, Oberlin Howarth. Doheny's condition did not improve and was worsened after he read about the Pirates' fourth loss in the
1903 World Series
The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series to be played in Major League Baseball. It matched the American League (AL) champion 1903 Boston Americans season, Boston Americans against the National League (NL) champion 1903 Pittsburgh Pi ...
. On the night of October 10, he forcibly removed Conroy from his home. Early the next morning, Doheny attacked Howarth with a cast-iron stove leg and knocked him unconscious. The police arrived, and Doheny held them off while threatening to kill anyone who approached. After an hour, the police finally overpowered him. Doheny was declared insane by doctors and committed to an asylum in
Danvers, Massachusetts
Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the renowned beaches of Glo ...
.
[Abrams, Roger I. (2003). ''The First World Series and the Baseball Fanatics of 1903''. Northern University Press. pp. 163–164.]
Doheny finished his nine-year MLB career with a 75–83 record, a 3.73 ERA, and 572
strikeouts.
He never recovered from his mental illness and died in an asylum in
Medfield, Massachusetts
Medfield is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,799 according to the 2020 United States Census. It is a community about southwest of Boston, Massachusetts, which is a 40-minute drive to Boston's fin ...
, in 1916.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball career hit batsmen leaders
In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is a situation in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provi ...
References
*Dennis DeValeria and Jeanne Burke DeValeria (1995). ''Honus Wagner: A Biography''. University of Pittsburgh Press.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doheny, Ed
1873 births
1916 deaths
19th-century baseball players
Major League Baseball pitchers
New York Giants (NL) players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Baseball players from Vermont
People from Northfield, Vermont
Deaths in mental institutions