Thomas Jefferson Dowd (April 20, 1869 – July 2, 1933), nicknamed "Buttermilk Tommy", was an American

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

from

Holyoke, Massachusetts Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,247. Loca ...

, who played for six teams during his ten-season career.

College

Dowd played college baseball at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, and according to an article in the ''Brown Alumni Magazine'':

Nineteenth-century baseball authority Tim Murnane of the ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' proclaimed Dowd the best center fielder he'd ever seen, especially for his skill at sprinting back on a ball over his head and then turning left or right for the catch. For years Dowd held the unofficial record time for circling the bases.

Major Leagues

Dowd made his major-league debut on April 8, 1891 for the Boston Reds of the American Association. He later played with the Washington Senators,

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

and the

Boston Americans 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 ...

in 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 ...

. He was a right-handed batter with a career

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 ...

of .271, and stole 366 bases in his major league career. His final game was September 28, 1901. Dowd has the distinction of being the first

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

native to play for the Americans, as well as the first official player, as he was the leadoff hitter in their first game, a road game in Baltimore. During the 1891 and 1892 off-seasons, Dowd was the head football coach at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Coaching career

After his career, he coached at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

and

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

, and managed in several

minor Minor may refer to: Common meanings * Minor (law), a person not under the age of certain legal activities. * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Mathematics * Minor (graph theory), a relation of one graph to an ...

and independent leagues. In 1908 he was managing at Hartford, and signed

Chick Evans Charles E. "Chick" Evans Jr. (July 18, 1890 – November 6, 1979) was a prominent American amateur golfer of the 1910s and 1920s. Evans, who won the 1910 Western Open, became the first amateur to win both the U.S. Open (golf), U.S. Open and U. ...

to a contract. Dowd also studied law at

. He was given credit for discovering

Rabbit Maranville Walter James Vincent "Rabbit" Maranville (November 11, 1891 – January 6, 1954) was an American professional baseball shortstop, second baseman and Manager (baseball), manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Braves (base ...

. In 1905, Dowd coached the football team at St. Louis University, leading the Blue and White to a 7–2 record."Only Two Defeats for St. Louis U", ''St. Louis Republic'', December 3, 1905, Part IV, Page 6 Dowd died at the age of 64 in his hometown of Holyoke of accidental drowning. His body was found in the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

. He is interred at the Calvary Cemetery.

Head coaching record

College football

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dowd, Tommy 1869 births 1933 deaths Major League Baseball center fielders Boston Americans players Boston Reds (AA) players Cleveland Spiders players Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Browns (NL) players St. Louis Browns (NL) managers Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Washington Statesmen players Deaths by drowning in Massachusetts 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Baseball players from Holyoke, Massachusetts Minor league baseball managers Worcester Grays players Amsterdam-Gloversville-Johnstown Jags players Baltimore Orioles (International League) players 20th-century American sportsmen Nashua (minor league baseball) players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Holyoke Paperweights players Brown Bears baseball players Georgetown Hoyas football coaches Saint Louis Billikens football coaches Major League Baseball player-managers Amherst Mammoths baseball coaches Williams Ephs baseball coaches New Bedford Whalers (baseball) players