Patrick Joseph Donovan (March 16, 1865 – December 25, 1953) was an Irish born

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

who played for several teams from to , most notably the

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

. He batted .301 lifetime and set a major league record for career games in right field, as well as retiring among the career leaders in total games (5th, 1813), assists (9th, 264) and

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Le ...

s (5th, 69) as an outfielder. Donovan batted and threw left-handed.

Early years

Born in Queenstown,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, Donovan established himself as the most successful Irish-born major leaguer. He broke into organized baseball in with the

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen, Massachusetts, Methuen ...

team in 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 ...

Minor league career

In and , Donovan played outfield for the London Tecumsehs of the International Association at Tecumseh Park (today's Labatt Park) in

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

, Canada, where, in his first season in 1888, he led the league in batting with a .359 batting average (according to the Donovan family Web site; however, the London Tecumsehs' official scorer C. J. Moorehead, in a 1903 copy of ''The London Advertiser'', cited Donovan's 1888 batting average as .398), had 201

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

, scored 103 runs and stole 80 bases. His second season with the Tecumsehs was less successful due to a leg injury.

Major league career

In 1890 he made his major league debut in 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 ...

(NL) with the

Boston Beaneaters Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

, and moved to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms in midseason; it would be the only time in his career he played for a league champion. In he played in the American Association (AA) for the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

and Washington Statesmen; he then returned to the NL in , first with the Senators (the former Statesmen, who had joined the NL in a league merger) before going to the Pirates for most of the year. Donovan starred with the Pirates from through , notching six consecutive seasons batting .300 and serving as

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

in and . The team was sold late in 1899, during a time when the league was contracting from twelve teams to eight; new owner

Barney Dreyfuss Bernhard "Barney" Dreyfuss (February 23, 1865 – February 5, 1932) was an executive in Major League Baseball who owned the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise from 1900 to his death in 1932. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2 ...

brought in Fred Clarke to be manager, with Donovan being sent to the Cardinals. He played for St. Louis from –, sharing the league lead in

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 (45) in his first season, also managing the team in his last three seasons with them. By the end of the 1903 season he ranked among the NL's top ten career leaders in hits and

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, ...

s, though he would drop from among the leaders before his playing career ended. His 64 career

s in the NL ranked one behind Jimmy Ryan's league record. He then served as player-manager for 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 ...

's Washington Senators in 1904, his last season as a regular. In 1903, he broke Sam Thompson's major league record of 1401 games in right field; however,

Willie Keeler William Henry Keeler (March 3, 1872 – January 1, 1923), nicknamed "Wee Willie" because of his small stature, was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1892 to 1910, primarily for the Baltimore Orioles and Brooklyn ...

passed him in 1906, before Donovan played his last several games and retired with a total of 1620. In , he became manager of the

Brooklyn Superbas The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brookl ...

, and made his last few playing appearances that year, along with one more game at the end of the season. In a 17-season playing career, Donovan had 2256 hits, 1321 runs, 16

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 738

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

in 1824

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

, along with 208 doubles and 75

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 ...

. Donovan collected 302 stolen bases from 1890 to 1897, and 216 more after the statistic was revised to its modern definition in 1898.

Post-playing career

Donovan joined the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

in , and managed the team in and . As a major league manager, he compiled a 684–879 record (.438) in 11 seasons. He was also instrumental in bringing

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

to the Sox in through his acquaintance with one of the

Xaverian Brothers The Xaverian Brothers or Congregation of St. Francis Xavier are a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Theodore James Ryken in Bruges, Belgium, in 1839 and named after Saint Francis Xavier. The institute is dedicated to education. His ...

who coached Ruth at a

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

orphans' home. Later he went to the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

, where he led Buffalo to pennants in and , and also managed Jersey City in 1921–22 and 1925–26. In 1929 and 1930, Donovan managed the Orleans town team in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

. In 1930 one of his charges at Orleans was future

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

legend

Red Rolfe Robert Abial "Red" Rolfe (October 17, 1908 – July 8, 1969) was an American baseball third baseman, manager (baseball), manager and front-office executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the New York Yankees from 1931 to 194 ...

. In a 1930 old-timers' game at

Braves Field Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the ...

in Boston, Donovan had a

pinch hit 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, Am ...

single, at the age of 65. He finished out his career coaching High School baseball at

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

in Andover, where he coached the future 41st President,

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

. Donovan died at the age of 88 in

, on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

1953, and is interred at St. Mary Cemetery in Lawrence.

Honors

In the Irish Baseball League, the annual award for best batter is named "The Patsy Donovan Batting Champion Award". In 2023, Donovan was inducted into the "Irish American Hall of Fame" in Chicago, some seventy years after his death.

Managerial record

References

*James Reaney
"Patsy Donovan is remembered for a stellar season with the Tecumsehs"
''The London Free Press'', August 13, 2006
''Baseball Star!'' by Brian Sheehy, ''Lawrence History News'', Spring 2003

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donovan, Patsy 1865 births 1953 deaths 19th-century baseball players Baseball managers Boston Beaneaters players Boston Red Sox managers Brooklyn Bridegrooms players Brooklyn Superbas managers Brooklyn Superbas players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) managers Cape Cod Baseball League coaches Irish emigrants to the United States Major League Baseball players from Ireland Irish baseball players Louisville Colonels players Major League Baseball right fielders Minor league baseball managers National League stolen base champions Sportspeople from Cobh Baseball players from Lawrence, Massachusetts Pittsburgh Pirates managers Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Cardinals managers St. Louis Cardinals players Washington Senators (1901–1960) managers Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Washington Statesmen players Lawrence (minor league baseball) players Salem (minor league baseball) players London Tecumsehs (baseball) players Major League Baseball player-managers Sportspeople from County Cork Attleboro Burros players Boston Red Sox scouts