Thomas Bruton

Thomas J. Bruton

• Height 5' 8", Weight 150 lb.

• Born 1861 in Annascaul, Kerry Ireland
• Died January 9, 1940 in Muncie, IN USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Thomas Bruton was a minor league second baseman in the 1890s. He was born in Ireland, but his family emigrated and settled in Chicopee, MA when he was young. Bruton's birth date varied across different sources, but his tombstone lists 1861, and given that he was listed as 8 years old in the 1870 census and was the oldest of his family's children, a birth date in late 1861 is most likely.

Before turning professional, Bruton played in the city trade league of Holyoke, MA, then with teams in Pittsfield, North Adams, and with the L. J. Gunn club of Greenfield. Upon his death it was reported that Bruton played five years with Boston in the National League, but there is no evidence of him playing with Boston in these years.

Bruton began playing professionally with Fort Wayne in the Indiana State League in 1890. He played infield for the club, and despite a suspension that June as he looked to be released from the team so he could join his former L. J. Gunn teammate Charles Flack in Mansfield, OH, he gained a strong reputation in Fort Wayne and was viewed as captain material. After the Indiana league folded, he moved to Utica in the New York State League, where he impressed with his second base play. The small-in-stature Bruton was signed by nearby Albany to play for its club in the Eastern Association in 1891. After playing just eight games with Albany, he was released so that he could return to Fort Wayne, who were playing in the Northwestern League in 1891.

Bruton manned second base for Fort Wayne for the rest of 1891 and resided in that city for the next several years. He spent much of the 1892 season playing in Illinois, including in Jacksonville, where for a time he was the team's acting manager. From 1892 to 1894, he primarily played with the local amateur team in Fort Wayne, though did have another stint back in Jacksonville. When Fort Wayne put together a team to play in the Western Inter-State League in 1895, it signed Sol White to play second base. Bruton often umpired for the team early in the season, though did make his way into the lineup as a shortstop and outfielder. That league quickly folded and Bruton played later in the summer in Anderson, then finished the season playing and managing Logansport.

Bruton played in 1896 as captain of the Logansport Ottos in the Indiana State League. In 1897 he played with an independent team in Danville, IL and back in Fort Wayne, also umpiring for Fort Wayne's Western League team. He would then settle in Muncie, IN, where he played in 1899 and 1900 in the state league.