Patrick Henry Duff (May 6, 1875 – September 11, 1925) was an American professional

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. Duff played one game 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 ...

, and in one

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

he didn't compile a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

. Despite his limited playing time in the majors, Duff's

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

career spanned eight nonconsecutive seasons.

Early life

Duff was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, on May 6, 1875, though

1890 United States census The 1890 United States census was taken beginning June 2, 1890. The census determined the resident population of the United States to be 62,979,766, an increase of 25.5 percent over the 50,189,209 persons enumerated during the 1880 United States ...

records suggests he was born in 1876. His father, Patrick Duff, was born in Ireland in 1830, and worked as a

laborer A laborer ( or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor typed within the construction industry. There is a generic factory laborer which is defined separately as a factory worker. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in whic ...

. Duff's mother was also from Ireland. Duff attended

Manhattan College Manhattan University (previously Manhattan College) is a private, Catholic university in New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers (Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools) as an academy fo ...

from 1901 to 1904.

Professional career

In 1897, Duff began his professional career with the Class-B

Fall River Indians Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southern Hemispher ...

of the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

. With the Indians, Duff got no hits in 3 at-bats. Duff played with the Class-F New Haven Blues, and the Class-F Norwich Witches of the

Connecticut State League The Connecticut League, also known as the Connecticut State League, was a professional baseball association of teams in the state of Connecticut. The league was a minor league for most of its existence. It began as offshoot of the original Connecti ...

in 1901 after a three-year absence in professional baseball. He batted .260 with 82 hits, 14 doubles, 6

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 ...

, 7

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

, and 20

stolen bases 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 a ...

that season. On the season, Duff was tied for sixth in the league in home runs along with Thomas Ivers, and Bob Unglaub. The next season, Duff again played for the New Haven Blues, and the Norwich Witches, however, his stats for that season were not kept. Duff also played for the Class-A Syracuse Stars of the Eastern League in 1901, but did not play. In 1904, Duff played for the All-Americans of the

Cuban League The Cuban League ( Spanish: ''Liga cubana'') was one of the earliest and longest lasting professional baseball leagues outside the United States, operating in Cuba from 1878 to 1961. The schedule usually operated during the winter months, so the ...

playing

first base 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 ...

on a team that included multiple major leaguers. After another three-year absence from pro-baseball, Duff played for the Class-AA

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

, and the Class-AA

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

of the American Association in 1905. In 22 games that season, Duff batted .176 with 13 hits, and 3 doubles. In 1906, Duff played his only season in Major League Baseball with the Washington Senators. In only 1 games, Duff did not get a hit in 1 at-bat. The next season, Duff played for the Class-B York White Roses/Reading Pretzels, and the Class-B

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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 100 games that season, Duff batted .204 with 68 hits, and 11 doubles, 3 triples, and 1 home run. In 1908, Duff played for the Class-B

New Bedford Whalers New Bedford Whalers was the name of three American soccer teams based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The first Whalers played in the Southern New England Soccer League between 1914 and 1918. The second Whalers played in the American Soccer Leag ...

, and the

Lowell Tigers The Lowell Tigers were a minor league baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1901 to 1911, the Lowell Tigers played as members of the Class B level New England League, winning the 1911 league championship. The Lowell Tigers teams were ...

of the New England League. He batted .243 with 99 hits, 13 doubles, 1 triple, and 1 home run in 117 games. Duff played the 1909 season with the Class-B Haverhill Hustlers, and the Class-B Brockton Tigers of the New England League. In 78 games, Duff batted .226 with 60 hits, 8 doubles, 3 triples, and 1 home run. Duff's final season in professional baseball came in 1910 when he was at the age of 35. In 13 games with the Class-D Norwich Bonbons/

Meriden Doublins Meriden may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Meriden, Hertfordshire, England, a suburb of Watford; see List of United Kingdom locations *Meriden, West Midlands, England *Meriden (UK Parliament constituency), in the West Midlands United States * ...

of the

Connecticut Association The Connecticut Association was a Class D (baseball), Class D level minor league baseball league that played in the 1910 season. The four–team Connecticut Association consisted of franchises based exclusively in Connecticut. The Connecticut Ass ...

, Duff batted .357 with 15 hits.

Later life

Duff died in Providence, Rhode Island, on September 11, 1925, at the age of 50. He was buried St. Ann Cemetery in

Cranston, Rhode Island Cranston, formerly known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The official population of the city in the 2020 United States Census was 82,934, making it the second-largest city in the state. The center of ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duff, Pat 1875 births 1925 deaths Baseball players from Providence, Rhode Island Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball first basemen Washington Senators (1901–1960) players 20th-century American sportsmen Fall River Indians players Pawtucket Tigers players New Haven Blues players Norwich Witches players Indianapolis Indians players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Johnstown Johnnies players York White Rozes players Reading Pretzels players Lowell Tigers players New Bedford Whalers (baseball) players Brockton Tigers players Haverhill Hustlers players Norwich Bonbons players Meriden Doublins players Manhattan Jaspers baseball players Providence Friars baseball coaches American people of Irish descent Plattsburgh (baseball) players