Jack Remsen

John Jay Remsen

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 189 lb.

• Debut May 2, 1872
• Final Game October 15, 1884
• Born April, 1850 in Brooklyn, NY USA
• Died March 23, 1929 in New York, NY USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Centerfielder Jack Remsen played for eight teams in his ten-year career in the National Association, National League, and American Association.

He broke in with the Brooklyn Atlantics in 1872, in the second season of the National Association, the first professional baseball league, and then was on the Hartford Dark Blues in the first year of the National League in 1876.

On May 1, 1877, he participated in the "Greatest of St. Louis Ball Games" according to an article of remembrance in the May 1, 1910 issue of the Sunday Evening Telegraph. The game took place between the St. Louis Brown Stockings and Syracuse Stars, who were not members of the National League that year. It was a 15-inning game with a final score of 0-0 (called on account of darkness).

Remsen, as lead-off hitter for the Dark Blues on July 6, 1876, hit the first leadoff home run in National League history. He is said to have been the last player in major league baseball to wear a full beard on the field, but the 1876 photo above does not show him wearing a beard at that time.

He umpired two games in the National Association, in 1873 and 1874 and two in the National League in 1880.

After his major league playing time, Remsen managed Hartford in the Southern New England League.

Peter Morris's website [1] listed him as one of the "Cold Cases of the Diamond" because no death record had been found for him until 2026. When the trail went cold, he was living in New York in 1921. His son died in Hartford, CT and his wife Emily, who died in 1927, was buried there, but there was no trace of him in that city. He was still alive when Emily died as he signed her death certificate. A John J. Remsen was found in New York records with a death date of 1929. He was proven to be the former ballplayer when that man's last address was found on maps from the period to correspond to the same building which was his last residence, even though the addresses were different.

Notable Achievements

• NL Bases on Balls Leader (1878)

Further Reading

• "Jack Remsen Found", in Bill Carle, ed.: Biographical Research Committee Report, SABR, May/June 2026, p. 1.

Related Sites

• Jack Remsen at the SABR Bio Project
• A photo of Remsen can be found here: 1876 Hartford Dark Blues.