James Augustus Donahue (January 8, 1862 – April 19, 1935) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player from

Lockport, Illinois Lockport is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States, located 30 miles southwest of Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 26,094. The city was incorporated in 1853. It is situated along the Illinois a ...

, who played his entire career in the American Association from through .

Career

Donahue made his Major League debut with the

New York Metropolitans The Metropolitan Club (New York Metropolitans or the Mets) was a 19th-century professional baseball team that played in New York City from 1880 to 1887. (The ''New York Metropolitan Baseball Club'' was the name chosen in 1961 for the New York M ...

of the American Association in , splitting time between 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 bat and ball games ...

and

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 catc ...

, where he platooned with

Charlie Reipschlager Charles W. Reipschlager (February 7, 1856 – March 16, 1910) was an American Major League Baseball catcher who played from to with the New York Metropolitans and the Cleveland Blues in the American Association. He batted and threw right-hand ...

. He played in 49

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

, and had a

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 ...

of .199. He returned the following season, again platooning at catcher, this time with

Bill Holbert William Henry Holbert (March 14, 1855 – March 20, 1935) was an American catcher in the National League and American Association baseball leagues, from 1876 through 1888. He holds the Major League record for career at-bats without a home run, ...

, and had a .282 batting average, which proved to be his best season at the plate. Following the season Donahue was sold to the

Brooklyn Bridegrooms The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brookl ...

along with several other player on October 20, 1887, who then turned around and sold him on January 15, to the

Kansas City Cowboys Several sports team in Kansas City, Missouri have used the name Cowboys: *Kansas City Cowboys (Union Association), a major league baseball team in the Union Association in 1884 *Kansas City Cowboys (National League), a major league baseball team in ...

along with several others. With Kansas City in 1888, he had his most playing time, as he was considered the starting catcher. He played in 88 games, hit .234, and had a career high 11 doubles. That season, he was also used as a substitute

umpire 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 , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

on two occasions, but for the game on July 14, it became dubiously notable. Bridegroom pitcher

Adonis Terry William H. "Adonis" Terry (August 7, 1864 – February 24, 1915) was an American Major League Baseball player whose career spanned from his debut with the Brooklyn Atlantics in , to the Chicago Colts in . In his 14 seasons, he compiled a 197- ...

claimed that he overheard Cowboy

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Sam Barkley order Donahue to call a Bridegroom runner out in the 9th inning of a 5-4 game. The Grooms walked off the field in protest‚

forfeit Forfeit or forfeiture may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Forfeit'', a 2007 thriller film starring Billy Burke * "Forfeit", a song by Chevelle from '' Wonder What's Next'' * '' Forfeit/Fortune'', a 2008 album by Crooked Fingers ...

ing the game‚ resulting in a 9-0 score. In , he returned to platooning, as the Cowboys promoted Charlie Hoover to starter. Donahue caught 46 games that season and split the remainder of his games between the

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering syst ...

and

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, while hitting .234, and 32

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

. After the 1889 season, the Cowboys folded and Donahue did not play in the majors for the season, but returned for the

Columbus Solons The Columbus Solons were a professional baseball team in the American Association from 1889 to 1891. In three seasons, they won 200 games and lost 209 for a winning percentage of .489. Their home games were played at Recreation Park in Columbu ...

, and played in 77 games, hit .218, and drove in 35 runs. This was his final major league season.

Post-career

After leaving baseball, Donahue returned to his hometown of Lockport, and it was there that he died at the age of 73 with his valet CJ Winkler at his side. He was interred at the South Lockport Cemetery.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donahue, Jim 1862 births 1935 deaths 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Major League Baseball catchers New York Metropolitans players Kansas City Cowboys (AA) players Columbus Solons players Sportspeople from Lockport, Illinois Muskegon (minor league baseball) players Winona Clippers players Augusta Browns players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Marinette Badgers players