James William Duncan (July 1, 1871 – October 16, 1901) 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.

Biography

He was born on July 1, 1871, in

Saltsburg, Pennsylvania Saltsburg is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its location is in Western Pennsylvania, in the southwestern corner of Indiana County near its border with Westmoreland County. The town was based on the construction of sal ...

. Duncan played baseball in the minor leagues from 1895 to 1899. He was picked up by the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

's Washington Senators in July 1899; but after batting just .234 in 14 games, he was released. He then played the rest of the season for the worst major league team in history, the

1899 Cleveland Spiders The 1899 Cleveland Spiders season was the team's 13th and final season in Major League Baseball (MLB), and their 11th season in the National League (baseball), National League (NL). The Spiders' team owners, the Robison family, also owned the S ...

. He had a .229 average in 105 at-bats. Duncan never played again after the 1899 season ended. Two years later at the age of 30, Duncan

drowned Drowning is a type of Asphyxia, suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Submersion injury refers to both drowning and near-miss incidents. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where othe ...

during a fishing trip on October 16, 1901, in

Foxburg, Pennsylvania Foxburg is a borough in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located along the east bank of the Allegheny River, about north of the mouth of the Clarion River. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 181. History The town ...

. According to a newspaper report, "In company with two friends, he went out in a row boat to fish, taking a quantity of dynamite to kill the fish. It is supposed that the boat was overturned by the explosion of the dynamite. Nothing was heard of the party for a few days when the bodies were found." He was buried in Grove Hill Cemetery in

Oil City, Pennsylvania Oil City is the largest city in Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States. Known for its prominence in the initial exploration and development of the petroleum industry, it is located at a bend in the Allegheny River at the mouth of Oil Cre ...

. File:Duncan-James 1901 obituary.gif, Obituary in the

Lewiston Evening Journal The ''Sun Journal'' is a newspaper published in Lewiston, Maine, United States, which covers central and western Maine. In addition to its main office in Lewiston, the newspaper also maintains satellite news and sales bureaus in the Maine towns ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Jim 1871 births 1901 deaths Major League Baseball catchers Cleveland Spiders players Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Baseball players from Indiana County, Pennsylvania Jamestown (minor league baseball) players Franklin Braves players Twin Cities Twins players Portland (minor league baseball) players Springfield Ponies players Springfield Maroons players New Britain Rangers players Rome Romans (New York State League) players Toronto Canucks players Paterson Giants players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Deaths by drowning in Pennsylvania 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen People from Saltsburg, Pennsylvania