Jack O'Neill (baseball)
John Joseph O'Neill (10 January 1873 – 29 June 1935) was a catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1902–03), Chicago Cubs (1904–05) and Boston Beaneaters (1906). He batted and threw right-handed.
| Jack O'Neill | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: 10 January 1873 Maum, County Galway, Ireland | |
| Died: 29 June 1935 (aged 64) Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 21, 1902, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 3, 1906, for the Boston Beaneaters | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .196 |
| Home runs | 1 |
| Runs batted in | 74 |
| Teams | |
| |
He was born in the townland of Tawnaleen, near Maum, in County Galway, Ireland, to Michael O'Neill, a small farmer in Maum, and Mary Joyce.[1]
O'Neill was one of four major league brothers. Steve was a catcher and manager, Jim a shortstop, and Mike, who also was born in Ireland, was a pitcher and formed a brother battery with Jack for the St. Louis Cardinals.
O'Neill shared catching duties for the Cardinals, Cubs and Beaneaters in a modest span of five years. He was a smart runner with some speed and usually was used in pinch-running situations. His most productive season came in 1903, when he posted career-highs in batting average (.236), runs (23), hits (58), doubles (nine), runs batted in (21), stolen bases (11) and games played (75).
In 303 games O'Neill was a .196 hitter with 20 stolen bases and 74 RBI. He also collected 185 hits with 24 doubles, five triples, and one home run in 945 at-bats.
O'Neill died in Scranton, Pennsylvania, at the age of 62.
References
- "General Registrar's Office". IrishGenealogy.ie. Retrieved 10 January 2017.