Thomas Joseph Needham (April 17, 1879 – December 14, 1926) was an Irish-born

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

player from 1904 to 1914. He 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 catcher ...

with the

Boston Beaneaters Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

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and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

. Needham hit poorly, hitting below .200 in 8 of his 11 seasons, Needham's career average was .209, due to his first season average of .260. Needham died in his home in

Steubenville, Ohio Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city's name is deri ...

at the age of 47.

Career

Born in Ireland, Needham lived in

, by his teens. He played baseball there before spending a few seasons in the minor leagues. Needham was signed in late 1903 by the Boston Beaneaters, and he made his major-league debut with them in 1904. Needham achieved career highs in several offensive categories during the 84 games he played in that first season: he tallied 70

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 ...

, including 12 doubles, and he had a .260

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 i ...

. He stayed with Boston for three more years, playing between 83 and 86 games each season."Tom Needham Statistics and History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-12-19. After a brief appearance with the

in 1908, Needham was traded to the Chicago Cubs for a player named Fred Leise before the 1909 season. This seemed to be a good opportunity for Needham, as Cubs catcher

Johnny Kling Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...

was sitting out the 1909 season to pursue pool playing. However, the team selected

Jimmy Archer James Patrick Archer (May 13, 1883 – March 29, 1958) was an Irish-born catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who spent nearly his entire career with four National League teams, primarily the Chicago Cubs, for whom he played from 1909 to 1917 ...

in that season's rule 5 draft, and Archer became the Cubs starting catcher. Needham hit over .200 only once and never appeared in more than 33 games in any of his six seasons with the Cubs. Needham, who had served as a player-coach in his last couple of seasons with the Cubs, managed the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. ...

of 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 level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

in 1917. He later served as a pitching coach for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

and was involved in starting up two minor leagues in Ohio.

Death

In early December 1926, Needham suffered a stroke. He was taken to

Ohio Valley Hospital Heritage Valley Kennedy (formerly Ohio Valley Hospital) is a not-for-profit hospital in Kennedy Township, Pennsylvania. Its postal address is 25 Heckel Road, McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania 15136. Ohio Valley serves Pittsburgh's western suburbs, inclu ...

, where staff members felt that his stroke was too severe to respond to any treatment, so he was taken back home to die. He died on December 14, 1926. He was survived by his wife and two children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Needham, Tom 1879 births 1926 deaths Major League Baseball catchers Boston Beaneaters players Boston Doves players New York Giants (NL) players Chicago Cubs players Minor league baseball managers Fort Wayne Railroaders players Wheeling Stogies players Major League Baseball players from Ireland Irish baseball players Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Baseball players from Ohio