| Jim O'Rourke | |
|---|---|
 O'Rourke in 1888 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born:(1850-09-01)September 1, 1850 Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S. | |
| Died: January 8, 1919(1919-01-08) (aged 68) Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 26, 1872, for the Middletown Mansfields | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 22, 1904, for the New York Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .310 |
| Hits | 2,639 |
| Home runs | 62 |
| Runs batted in | 1,208 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
As player
As manager | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1945 |
| Election method | Old-Timers Committee |
James Henry O'Rourke (September 1, 1850 – January 8, 1919), nicknamed "Orator Jim", was an American professionalbaseball player in theNational Association andMajor League Baseball who played primarily as aleft fielder. For the period 1876–1892, he ranks behind onlyCap Anson in career major league games played (1,644),hits (2,146), at-bats (6,884),doubles (392) andtotal bases (2,936), and behind onlyHarry Stovey inruns scored (1,370) (Stovey was a younger player; Anson played five seasons and O'Rourke four prior to 1876.). In1945, O'Rourke was inducted into theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.
O'Rourke was born inEast Bridgeport,Connecticut, and worked on his family's farm while playing youth league and semi-pro baseball. He began his professional career as a member of the Middletown Mansfields in 1872, joining the one-year-old National Association team as a catcher. The Mansfields were not a top-tier team, and folded in August, but O'Rourke had impressed other teams sufficiently enough to be offered a contract with theBoston Red Stockings, with whom he played until 1878. On April 22, 1876, O'Rourke had the first base hit in National League history.[1]
He graduated fromYale Law School in 1887 with anLL.B.,[2] practicing law in Bridgeport between early playing stints, and earning the nickname "Orator Jim" because of his verbosity on the field, his intellect, and his law degree—uncommon in a game regarded as a rough immigrant sport at the time.[3]
After leaving the major leagues following the 1893 season he continued to play in the minor leagues until he was over 50 years old. Returning to the Park City fulltime, O’Rourke helped organize the Connecticut State League in 1895, serving as league official, team owner, manager, and player. As a direct result Bridgeport retained a professional baseball team for over a third of a century. Proximity to Yale allowed Jim to umpire Ivy League ball games and he also devoted his expertise to consulting baseball hierarchy at the national level. Jim is credited with signing Harry Herbert in 1895, Bridgeport’s first African American to play pro ball.[4]
In 1904, he made a final appearance with theNew York Giants under manager and friendJohn McGraw, becoming at age 54 the oldest player ever to appear in theNational League, and the oldest player to hit safely in a major league game.[5][6][7] O'Rourke is one of only 29 players in baseball history to appear in Major League games in four decades.
In 1912, he returned to the field to catch a complete minor league game at the age of 60.[8][9]
O'Rourke died of pneumonia at age 68 inBridgeport, Connecticut. He was elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame in1945 as one of the earliest inductees from the 19th century. His older brotherJohn O'Rourke and his sonJimmy O'Rourke also played in the majors.
One legend concerning O'Rourke is that he was asked to drop the "O'" from his last name when he signed a contract with Boston and its Protestant backers. The son of Irish immigrants and the husband of a woman born in Ireland, O'Rourke refused, saying "I would rather die than give up my father's name. A million dollars would not tempt me."[10]
Another legend about O'Rourke is that his signing by the Mansfields in 1872 was conditioned on the team finding someone to take over O'Rourke's chores on his parents' farm.
O'Rourke has made a brilliant record for himself as an outfielder, being an excellent judge of a ball, a swift runner, and making the most difficult running catches with the utmost ease and certainty. As a thrower, too, he stands pre-eminent, being credited with a throw of 365 feet, the next to the longest yet accomplished by any player.
In 1,999 games over 23 seasons, O'Rourke posted a .310batting average (2,639-for-8,503) with 1,729runs, 468doubles, 149triples, 62home runs, 1,208RBI, 229stolen bases, 513bases on balls, .352on-base percentage and .422slugging percentage.
· Baseball Reference · Fangraphs · Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet · Baseball Almanac, orRetrosheet| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Hitting for the cycle June 16, 1884 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Career home run record holder 1882 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |