Thomas Joseph Dowse (August 12, 1866 – December 14, 1946) was a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

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 ...

who played 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 ...

from through . Listed at 5' 11", 175 lb, Dowse batted and threw right-handed. He was born in

Mohill Mohill (, meaning "soft ground") is a town in County Leitrim, Ireland. The town of Carrick-on-Shannon is approximately 16 km (10 miles) away. History The Justinian plague of Mohill devastated the local population in the 6th centur ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. In a three-season career, Dowse was a .197 hitter (116-for-590) with 46 RBI without

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 in 160

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

. Despite his modest numbers, he entered the record books by playing for four different teams in a single season, matching a very uncommon feat set by Harry Wheeler in . Basically a catcher, Dowse also played every position but

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

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 tenure. He started his career in 1890 with the

Cleveland Spiders The Cleveland Spiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899, first for two seasons as a member of the now-defunct American Association (AA), followe ...

of 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 ...

, appearing in 40 games for them while hitting a .208 average. That season, he also served as an emergency

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

in three games. In 1891 he played for the

Columbus Solons The Columbus Solons were a professional baseball team in the American Association from 1889 to 1891. In three seasons, they won 200 games and lost 209 for a winning percentage of .489. Their home games were played at Recreation Park in Columbu ...

of the American Association and posted career-numbers in average (.224), RBI (22), runs (24), and doubles (7). Dowse returned to the National League in 1892 with 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 ...

, appearing in 41 games for them before moving to the

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

(one),

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 ...

(16) and Washington Senators (7), hitting .165 in a career-high 65 games. He never appeared in a major league game again. Dowse died in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

, at the age of 80.

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowse, Tom Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Spiders players Columbus Solons players Louisville Colonels players Philadelphia Phillies players Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball outfielders 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball players from Ireland Irish baseball players Sportspeople from County Leitrim 1866 births 1946 deaths Hartford Dark Blues (minor league) players Wilkes-Barre Barons (baseball) players Atlanta (minor league baseball) players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons players Binghamton Bingoes players Allentown Buffaloes players Troy Washerwomen players Scranton Indians players Toronto Canadians players Albany Senators players Rochester Blackbirds players Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Irish emigrants to the United States

See also

External links