John Sloane Barnes (August 30, 1855 – September 15, 1929) was a

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

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 ...

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

, promoter, and proponent of

physical fitness Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of Outline of sports, sports, occupations, and daily activities. Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, modera ...

. Born in Ireland, Barnes organized the

Pacific Northwest League The Pacific Northwest League was a professional Minor League Baseball league based in the Pacific Northwest. It was the first professional baseball league ever in the region. History Founding The Pacific Northwest League was founded in 1890. In ...

in 1890, the first

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

league in the region. In that same year, he led the Spokane team to the Pacific Northwest League pennant. After managing the

Portland Webfeet The Portland Webfeet were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Northwest League. They were located in Portland, Oregon and played at Columbia Park (Portland), Columbia Park. They were active from to . In the Webfeet won the league cham ...

in 1892, he played a key role in the reorganization of the Western League, which later became the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

, before devoting a decade to the promotion of physical fitness in China. In 1909, Barnes returned to manage the Butte Miners in Montana, and in 1915 operated the Aberdeen Black Cats franchise. Barnes is interred at

Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park originated in 1885. It is located on both sides of Aurora Avenue in Seattle, Washington, and occupies roughly 144 acres (58 ha). It is the largest cemetery in Seattle. History At the time of its inception, the ar ...

in Seattle, Washington.

Career

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, John 1855 births 1929 deaths Portland Webfeet players Minor league baseball managers Irish emigrants to the United States