| Ken O'Dea | |
|---|---|
 O'Dea, circa 1944 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born:(1913-03-16)March 16, 1913 Lima, New York, U.S. | |
| Died: December 17, 1985(1985-12-17) (aged 72) Lima, New York, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 21, 1935, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 6, 1946, for the Boston Braves | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .255 |
| Home runs | 40 |
| Runs batted in | 323 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
James Kenneth O'Dea (March 16, 1913 – December 17, 1985) was an American professionalbaseball player.[1] He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) as acatcher for theChicago Cubs (1935–38),New York Giants (1939–41),St. Louis Cardinals (1942–46), andBoston Braves (1946).
O'Dea had the misfortune of playing on the same teams alongside some of the best catchers in theNational League, which limited his playing time.[2] Although he played most of his 12-year MLB career as a backup catcher, O'Dea was considered one of the best defensive catchers in the major leagues prior to World War II.[2]
O'Dea was born on March 16, 1913, inLima, New York, to anIrish father and anIrish American mother. O'Dea began his baseball career at the age of 18 in1931 with theGreensboro Patriots of thePiedmont League.[3] He produced a .333batting average while playing for theKeokuk Indians in1932.[2] Although his hitting would taper off, it was his defensive abilities as a catcher that made him stand out.[2] He played in theminor leagues for four years. O'Dea had four athletic brothers, two of whom made the minor leagues as well.
O'Dea made his MLB debut with the Chicago Cubs on April 21,1935, at the age of 22.[1][3] O'Dea performed respectably for the Cubs, serving as a backup catcher to futureBaseball Hall of Fame member,Gabby Hartnett.[2] When Hartnett was injured in1936, O'Dea filled in with solid defensive play as well as hitting for a .307 batting average in 80 games.[1] In1937, he hit for a .301 average in 83 games.[1] On December 6,1938, the Cubs traded him along withFrank Demaree andBilly Jurges to the New York Giants forDick Bartell,Hank Leiber and catcherGus Mancuso. With the Giants, O'Dea would once again be forced into a substitute role, as he backed up four-time All-StarHarry Danning.[2] After three seasons with the Giants, he was traded on December 11,1941 along withBill Lohrman andJohnny McCarthy to the St. Louis Cardinals forJohnny Mize.[4] The Cardinals also had an All-Star catcher inWalker Cooper, so O'Dea once again found himself in a backup role.[2]
When Cooper was inducted into theUnited States Navy in1945, O'Dea was finally given the opportunity to be a starting catcher.[5] He made the most of the opportunity, posting career-highs inhits (78),runs (36),runs batted in (43),extra-base hits (24), and games played (100).[1] O'Dea's pitch calling skills helped the Cardinals pitching staff lead the league inshutouts as the team finished the season in second place, three games behind the Chicago Cubs.[6] He also led National League catchers infielding percentage and in base runnerscaught stealing, and finished second toPhil Masi inassists.[7] He might have been an All-Star for the first time, but the1945 game was cancelled on April 24 due to strict war-time travel restrictions and no All-Stars were named that season. In place of the All-Star Game, seven interleague games were played.[8] TheAssociated Press sportswriters named O'Dea as an All-Star, a reserve catcher for the Nation League team.
The 33-year-old O'Dea was traded to the Boston Braves during the1946 season to make room for young catcher,Joe Garagiola.[2] With the Braves he once more resumed the role of a backup catcher behind another All-Star catcher, Phil Masi. O'Dea played in his final MLB game on August 6, 1946.[1]
In a twelve-year MLB career, O'Dea played in 832games, accumulating 560hits in 2,195at bats for a .255 career batting average, along with 40home runs, 323runs batted in and anon-base percentage of .338.[1] He ended his career with a .983fielding percentage, which was 4 points higher than the league average during his playing career.[1] O'Dea appeared in fiveWorld Series (1935,1938,1942,1943,1944), batting .462 (6-for-13) with one home run and six RBI in post-season play.[9] He was also valuable as a left-handedpinch hitter, leading the National League with 42 pinch-hitting appearances in1942.[2] Over the span of five World Series appearances, he set a since-broken record of three pinch hits in series competitions.[10]
O'Dea was married to Mary June Davis O'Dea for 47 years until her death in 1982. They had five children, Carole, James Kenneth Jr., Stephen, Daniel and Debra, the last of whom was killed at the age of 8 in a tragic accident.
In his later life, O'Dea ran the White Horse Tavern inEast Avon, New York, until it was destroyed by fire in 1955.
O'Dea died of lung cancer on December 17,1985, at the age of 72 in his hometown of Lima.[11]
, orBaseball Reference, orRetrosheet, orBaseball Almanac