John Dailey

John J. Dailey
also known as John Daly

• Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown
• Height 5' 7", Weight 145 lb.

• Debut July 12, 1875
• Final Game July 19 1875
• Born October 26, 1853 in Brooklyn, NY USA
• Died January 11, 1902 in Brooklyn, NY USA

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Biographical Information

John Dailey worked as a printer and lived most of his life - or at least the part that is known - in Brooklyn, NY, where he was born in a family of Irish immigrants. He was an infielder for two teams in the National Association in 1875, then came back as an umpire first in the Texas League and later in the National League in 1882 and in the American Association in 1884 and 1889. He was apparently married to a woman named Elizabeth Clancy, but for the longest time, it was impossible to find a trace of him after 1898, when he was said to be seeking permanent work as a National League umpire. The issue was finally resolved when researcher Justin McKinney found his wife's death certificate, issued under her maiden name, which led him to a cemetery where Dailey was buried in the same plot, having pre-deceased her by two decades.

His playing career lasted until 1885 even if he was only briefly a major leaguer. In his only season in 1875 he appeared for two teams - and they were both terrible: the Washington Nationals went 5-23, and the Brooklyn Atlantics were 5-23. He hit .178 in 29 games between the two teams, playing mainly shortstop.

The final trace of him comes in 1897, when he was umpiring in the Texas League and his wife had accompanied him there, according to a brief newspaper story. That December, he was back in New York and paid a visit to the offices of the New York Clipper, but no further mention of him have been found. It was suggested that he could have moved back to Texas or elsewhere permanently, as there initially was no indication of either he or his wife dying in the New York area in subsequent years (in fact, the family had never moved, but his wife had reverted to using her maiden name after his passing, which is how her death was missed). The fact that both his first and last names were common ones and that his last name is spelled many different ways (Dailey, Daley, Daly, etc.) made the task of researchers trying to track him down that much harder.

Further Reading

• "John Dailey", in Bill Carle, ed.: Biographical Research Committee Report, SABR, November/December 2017, p. 3.
• "John J. Dailey", in Bill Carle, ed.: Biographical Research Committee Report, SABR, July/August, 2018, pp. 2-3.
• "John Dailey", in Bill Carle, ed.: "Biographical Research Committee Report'", SABR, July/August 2025, p. 1.