Jim O'Rourke
From BR Bullpen
James Henry O'Rourke (Orator Jim)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 8", Weight 185 lb.
- Debut April 26, 1872
- Final Game September 22, 1904
- Born September 1, 1850 in Bridgeport, CT USA
- Died January 8, 1919 in Bridgeport, CT USA
Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1945
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[edit] Biographical notes
Jim O'Rourke is a Hall of Famer who hit .311 and scored 1,729 runs while playing in 23 seasons. For five of those seasons, he was player/manager.
He is the oldest player in Major League history to hit safely in a game. According to the Hall of Fame and the U.S. Census Bureau, O'Rourke was born Sept. 1, 1850. Thus, when he hit safely for the New York Giants on September 22, 1904... he was 54 years and 21 days old!!
Giants Manager John McGraw was a friend and former teammate of O'Rourke, so he allowed him to catch this one game. Ironically, it was the game in which the Giants clinched the 1904 pennant! O'Rourke became the last National Association player to appear in a major league game.
(McGraw also brought back former major leaguer (and O'Rourke teammate) Dan Brouthers for a couple games in 1904, at the age of 46.)
His son Queenie O'Rourke followed him to the big leagues.
He is one of six players in major league history to play a game after age 50. The others are Satchel Paige, Minnie Minoso, Nick Altrock, Charley O'Leary and Jack Quinn. Also, Hoyt Wilhelm was sixteen days shy of his fiftieth birthday when he pitched in his last game.
Quote: "There was no paraphernalia in the old days with which one could protect himself. No mitts; no, not even gloves; and masks, why you would be laughed off the diamond had you worn one behind the bat. ..." Jim O'Rourke, 1913.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 2-time NL On-Base Percentage Leader (1877 & 1879)
- NL Runs Scored Leader (1877)
- NL Hits Leader (1884)
- NL Singles Leader (1883)
- NL Triples Leader (1885)
- 3-time League Home Runs Leader (1874/NA, 1875/NA & 1880/NL)
- NL Bases on Balls Leader (1877)
- NA Stolen Bases Leader (1874)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (1890)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 5 (1883-1886 & 1890)
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1945
[edit] Further Reading
- Mike Roer: Orator O'Rourke: The Life of a Baseball Radical, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2006.
