Tommy Bond
From BR Bullpen
Thomas Henry Bond
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Weight 160 lb.
- Debut May 5, 1874
- Final Game August 11, 1884
- Born April 2, 1856 in Granard, Ireland
- Died January 24, 1941 in Boston, MA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Tommy Bond was a tremendously effective pitcher in the 1870's, and had a ten-year major league career in total. From 1875 to 1879, his ERA was always in the top five in the league (he led the league twice), and he was also among the leaders in wins, getting to the 40-win plateau three times in the period. Based on the similarity scores method, five of the ten most similar players to Bond are in the Hall of Fame.
When he started in 1874 with the Brooklyn Atlantics, he was only 18 on a team whose average age was 26.8. In 1877-78, when he was 21 and 22, his team won the pennant. Even in 1884, his last year, he was but 28 (although by then the teams he pitched for had average ages under 24).
Bond is one of forty major-leaguers who were born in Ireland; all are now dead. The deaths of Mike Muldoon and John Horan are unknown, but the other 38 all died in the USA.
After his playing days, Bond was briefly an umpire (1883, 1885) and then coached baseball at Harvard University. He later worked in the Boston assessor's office for 35 years.
[edit] Famous Last
Bond was the last survivor of the inaugural season in the National League (1876).
