Here lies Jim Delahanty, a well-traveled infielder who may have been banned from baseball – unofficially. He played for the Chicago Orphans (1901), New York Giants (1902), Boston Beaneaters (1904-05), Cincinnati Reds (1906), St. Louis Browns (1907), Washington Senators (1907-1909) & Detroit Tigers (1909-1912), as well as the Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League (1914-15).
Jim Delahanty was born in Cleveland on June 20, 1879. Given Ed Delahanty’s success, teams across the country scrambled to sign any of his brothers. Jim would become an excellent player in his own right, but his first couple of major-league stays with the Orphans and Giants were short and unsuccessful.
After a couple of great seasons in Little Rock, Jim gained notice as a top third base prospect. He was signed by Boston for 1904, starting a string of short stays with multiple teams.
The reason he switched teams could partly be explained by his on-field work. He was a good hitter, but his defense was lacking. Mostly though, Delahanty was a troublemaker. He was one of the most infamous umpire-baiters in baseball. He only wanted to play for managers he respected, and if he was unhappy, his play suffered. Teams were happy to get him, because he was good, but they would be just as happy to get rid of him later.
Delahanty ended up with the Detroit Tigers just in time to help push them into the 1909 World Series. He hit .346 in a losing effort to the Pirates.
In 1911, Jim hit .339 with 94 RBIs, which was his career best. The following season was marked by Ty Cobb jumping into the stands to attack a heckler. He was suspended for that stunt, and the Tigers went on a 1-game strike in support of their teammate. Delahanty was a ringleader, and that may have been his downfall. He was released soon after, though he was batting .286 at the time. No other MLB team tried to sign him. Had Del’s behavior gotten him blackballed from the game? It’s very suspicious.
Jim finished his career by playing in the Federal League, an outlaw major league. He hit .283 in 13 seasons.
Delahanty worked on a street repair crew in Cleveland for years. He died on October 17, 1953, after several months of poor health. He was 74.
Another look at the Delahanty Family plot at Calvary Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio. Ed and Frank Delahanty are buried here. Joe and Jim are buried elsewhere in the cemetery, and Tom Delahanty is buried in Florida. Despite the fallen headstone nearby, the cemetery is well maintained and is home to war heroes, Ohio politicians and other sports stars. Also, disco singer/porn star Andrea True and polka king Frankie Yankovic. Interesting place to visit.
Here lies Steve Evans, one of the early 20th Century’s unrivaled flakes. Evans was an outfielder/first baseman for the New York Giants (1908) & St. Louis Cardinals (1909-1913), and the Brooklyn Tip-Tops (1914-15) & Baltimore Terrapins (1915) of the Federal League.
Louis Richard Evans was born in Cleveland on February 17, 1885. Maybe. All the baseball stat sites list his birth year as 1885, but his draft cards and his obit list it as 1883. I tend to agree with the earlier date.
He first started playing baseball in 1907 and made it to the majors, briefly, in 1908. He tried to avoid demotion to the minors by literally running away from Giants manager John McGraw when McGraw tried to send him away. He got a hit in 2 at-bats with the Giants.
Evans was claimed by the Cardinals and became the team’s everyday right fielder starting in 1909. He got a good share of hits and drew plenty of walks, but he excelled at getting hit by pitches. From 1910 through 1912, Evans led the NL in getting hit, including a record-breaking 31 times in 1910. In 1911, he hit .294 with 13 triples, 5 homers and 71 RBIs. The next year, he raised his home run and RBI total by one apiece while batting .283.
Not that he was perfect. On multiple occasions he stole third base when there was already a Cardinals baserunner occupying the sack. Once he stole third when player-manager Roger Bresnahan was on it. When Bresnahan asked him what the hell he thought he was doing, Evans said, “I’m going right back where I came from,” and ran back to second.
Then there was the time he went out to right field with a stool and Japanese parasol to cool himself in the St. Louis heat. Or when he slept through a train wreck and woke up surprised to find his sleeping berth was upside down. He was a master storyteller and was told many times to go on the Vaudeville circuit.
In the 1913-14 offseason, Evans joined a round-the-world baseball exhibition series. He was picked as much for his entertainment value as for his playing ability.
Evans’ last season was in 1917. He retired to Cleveland and got a government job. He died on Dec. 28, 1943 at the age of 60. Or 58.
Here lies Ed McKean, a hard-hitting shortstop from the 19th Century who played on some tough Cleveland teams. He played for the Cleveland Blues of the American Association (1887-88), Cleveland Spiders (1889-98) and St. Louis Perfectos (1899).
Edwin John McKean was born in Grafton, Ohio, on June 6, 1864. He wasn’t just a baseball player. McKean was considered one of the finest wrestlers in professional baseball. He came by it honestly, having been trained in Greco-Roman wrestling at an early age. He competed in and won several amateur tournaments in Ohio in his youth. In an exhibition match in 1893, he defeated Charles Uhl, a Southern champion, in 10 minutes. The second match lasted an hour and a half before it was declared a draw.
McKean signed with the Cleveland Blues of the American Association in 1886 and spent two years with the team. He then moved to the Cleveland Spiders, where he spent a decade.
For the first couple of years, the Spiders were a second-division team, despite having good talent. McKean, though, was a mainstay, hardly ever taking days off and playing remarkably consistent ball. From 1889 through 1898, he averaged 132 games a year and led the NL in games played twice (141 in 1891 and 133 in 1896). He hit 56 home runs in that span, in an era when home runs were a relative rarity. While his speed gradually declined over the decade, he still averaged 19 stolen bases.
Starting in 1893, McKean hit over .300 for four years in a row. Along with a .310 average, he whacked 29 doubles and 24 triples in 1893, to go with 133 RBIs. The following season, McKean slashed .357/.412/.509 with 8 homers and 128 RBIs. He also stole 33 bases and had a career-high 198 hits.
The Spiders became a feared team, both for their talent and for their vicious play. Off the field, McKean was known for being generous to a fault with his money.
McKean retired after half a season in St. Louis, when it seemed that his age had caught up with him. After working in Cleveland as a bar owner and wrestling referee, he played and managed in the minors for several years.
Ed McKean died on August 16, 1919 in Cleveland. He was 55 years old.
