James Alexander Tyng (May 27, 1856 – October 30, 1931) is known as the first

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player to wear a catcher's mask while playing for

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1877. The team manager, Fred Thayer, received a patent for the mask in 1878.

Early life

Tyng was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, on May 27, 1856.

Baseball career

In 1879, Tyng became the first Harvard player selected to play in the majors, when he was picked up by

Harry Wright William Henry "Harry" Wright (January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895) was an American professional baseball player, manager (baseball), manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played Center fielder, center field for baseball's first fu ...

and the

Boston Red Caps The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

as an emergency pitcher. Tyng defeated the first-place

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 ...

to draw the Red Caps within two games of the Grays. It was the only victory in his major league career. Tyng continued to pitch as an amateur for the Staten Island Athletic Club and repeatedly turned down offers to play in the major leagues. Later, in 1888, he pitched in one game for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

Amateur golf career

Tyng was also an accomplished amateur golfer. He played in the 1897 U.S. Open held at the

Chicago Golf Club Chicago Golf Club is a private golf club A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the mo ...

Wheaton, Illinois Wheaton is a city in and the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It is located in Milton and Winfield Townships, approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, Wheaton's population was 53,970, making it the 27th-mos ...

. He shot rounds of 86-91=177 finishing near the middle of the field. He managed to beat several professionals, chief among them

Bert Way William Herbert "Bert" Way (23 August 1873 – 11 August 1963) was an English professional golfer and golf course designer. Way tied for second place in the 1899 U.S. Open, held 14–15 September 1899, at Baltimore Country Club in Baltimore, Ma ...

and Robert White.

External links

Baseball Almanac – Harvard University Baseball Players Who Made it to the Major LeaguesBaseball Almanac – Jim Tyng page

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyng, Jim 1856 births 1931 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Boston Red Caps players Philadelphia Phillies players Harvard Crimson baseball players Baseball players from Philadelphia 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Harvard College alumni