Martin Joseph Kavanagh (June 13, 1891 – July 28, 1960) was an American

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. He played professional baseball for six years from 1913 to 1918, including five seasons in

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 ...

with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

(1914–1916, 1918),

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

(1916–1917), and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

(1918). He appeared in 370 major league games, 172 as a

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

, 73 as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, 23 as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

, three as a

third baseman 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 Baseball scorekeep ...

, and two as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

. During his major league career, he compiled a .249

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 ...

and a .330

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

Early years

Kavanagh was born in

Harrison, New Jersey Harrison is a town in the western part of Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, and is located from New York City. Once considered "the bee ...

, in 1891. His parents Charles and Mary Kavanagh immigrated from Ireland in 1886. At the time of the 1900 U.S. Census, his father worked as a day laborer.

Professional baseball

Kavanagh began his professional career in 1913 with the

York White Roses The York White Roses was the name of a minor league baseball team based in the city of York, Pennsylvania, US, that existed between 1894 and 1969. History Early years The York White Roses began as members of the short-lived Keystone Associati ...

of the

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second league ...

. In 111 games with the White Roses, he had a .357

. After the season, the Detroit Tigers bought his contract, and he made his major league debut the following season on April 18, 1914. In July 1914, Kavanagh forgot to set his alarm and missed part of a game; backup infielder

Billy Purtell William Patrick Purtell (January 6, 1886 – March 17, 1962) was an American baseball infielder. He played professional baseball for 19 seasons between 1904 and 1928, including five seasons in Major League Baseball with the Chicago White Sox fro ...

's poor play led to the Tigers losing the game as a result. Kavanagh finished the 1914 season with a .248 batting average and 16

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s in 128 games. In 1915, he had his best year in professional baseball. In 113 games, 44 at first base and 42 at second base, he had a .295 batting average and 13

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

. In 1916, Kavanagh struggled; his average fell to .141 in 58 games for the Tigers. On September 2, 1916, the Tigers released Kavanagh, and he joined the

. He played 19 games for the Indians in the final month of the 1916 season. In one of those games, on September 24, Kavanagh hit a

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

, the first time in

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 ...

history that had happened. He appeared in 14 games with the Indians in 1917 and 13 to start the 1918 season. On May 25, 1918, Kavanagh signed with the

. He spent the rest of the 1918 season with the Cardinals, the minor league

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

, and the Tigers, retiring from the game after the season ended. In 370 major league games, he had a .249 batting average and .330 on-base percentage.

Later years

Kavanagh was married to Elizabeth "Bessie" Fitzsimmons on December 2, 1916. They had two sons, Martin, Jr., born in 1918, and Eugene, born in 1921.Census entry for Martin Kavanagh, ball player. Census Place: Detroit Ward 8, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T625_808; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 240; Image: 784. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census atabase on-line After retiring from professional baseball, Kavanagh worked as an iron worker in the construction industry.Census entry for Martin Kavanagh and family. Census Place: Newark, Essex, New Jersey; Roll: 1336; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 0655; Image: 660.0; FHL microfilm: 2341071. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census atabase on-line He was also a manager in the Detroit Amateur Baseball Federation. He died in

Taylor, Michigan Taylor is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 63,409 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Taylor is the fifth most-populated city in Wayne County and the 17th List of municip ...

, in 1960 at age 69.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kavanagh, Marty 1891 births 1960 deaths Major League Baseball second basemen Cleveland Indians players Detroit Tigers players St. Louis Cardinals players Seton Hall Pirates baseball coaches Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players York White Roses players Sportspeople from Harrison, New Jersey Baseball players from Hudson County, New Jersey Baseball coaches from New Jersey 20th-century American sportsmen