| Jimmy O'Rourke | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born:(1883-12-26)December 26, 1883 Bridgeport, Connecticut | |
| Died: December 22, 1955(1955-12-22) (aged 71) Sparrows Point, Maryland | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 15, 1908, for the New York Highlanders | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 8, 1908, for the New York Highlanders | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .231 |
| Home runs | 0 |
| Runs batted in | 3 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
James Stephen "Queenie"O'Rourke (December 26, 1883 – December 22, 1955) was an American professionalbaseball player. He played inMajor League Baseball for theNew York Highlanders in 1908, primarily as aleft fielder andshortstop.
O'Rourke was the son ofBaseball Hall of Fame inducteeJim O'Rouke; the father was often called "Orator Jim" with the son referred to as "Jimmy".[1]John O'Rourke, brother of Orator Jim, was also a major league player. Jimmy O'Rourke attendedYale University, where he played shortstop on the varsity baseball team in 1901 as a freshman.[1] After being unable to play in 1902 for academic reasons, O'Rourke started playing professionally in 1903, ending his collegiate eligibility.[1] He did complete his degree at Yale, graduating in June 1904.[1]
O'Rourke played baseball professionally from 1903 to 1915, and during 1922 and 1924.[2] His major league career consisted of 34 games for the1908 New York Highlanders, during which he compiled a .231batting average with threeruns batted in.[3] He started 28 games for New York: 13 in left field, 10 at shortstop, three at second base, and two at third base.[3]
In theminor leagues, O'Rourke played over 1200 games in 15 seasons.[2] He batted .303 for theBridgeport Orators of theConnecticut State League in 1907; records for some of his seasons are incomplete.[2] After apparently not playing professionally from 1916 through 1921, O'Rourke batted .283 in 23 games for theSyracuse Stars of theInternational League in 1922, and .236 in 88 games for theOttawa-Hull Senators of theOntario–Quebec–Vermont League in 1924.[2] In 1923, he served asmanager of theOttawa Canadiens in theEastern Canada League.[2]
O'Rourke died in December 1955; he was survived by his wife and a son.[4][5] While O'Rourke is listed on various baseball references sites under the nickname "Queenie", research by theSociety for American Baseball Research indicates that the nickname was "historically contrived", as it was not known to be used during O'Rourke's career and only appeared after his death.[1]
· Baseball Almanac