O'Connor was involved in a scandal in 1910 when, as player-manager of the St. Louis Browns, he attempted to help Nap Lajoie win the batting title over Ty Cobb. O'Connor ordered a rookie third baseman to play in a position that allowed Lajoie to bunt and reach first base easily. Later, O'Connor and a coach tried to bribe the official scorer to change a call to a hit. Although Cobb won the title, the scandal led to an investigation, and O'Connor and the coach were fired and informally banned from baseball for life. Research in 1981 revealed that Cobb's statistics were incorrectly counted, and Lajoie should have won the batting title.
O'Connor began his career as a left fielder and catcher for the Cincinnati Red Stockings, and he soon moved his way around the infield. He also played for the Columbus Solons from 1889 to 1891, and in 1892, he joined the Cleveland Spiders, where he would stay until 1898, when the owners of the St. Louis Browns were buying their players from the Spiders, who ceased to exist in 1899. O'Connor moved west to play with the Perfectos until 10 games into the 1900 season, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played one season with the New York Highlanders before finishing his career back in St. Louis with the Browns. O'Connor is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date who have appeared in Major League games in four decades.
O'Connor was the player-manager of the Browns in 1910, finishing a dismal 47–107. He tried to help Nap Lajoie win the batting title and the associated 1910 Chalmers Award over Ty Cobb in the last two games of the season, a doubleheader at Sportsman's Park. Cobb was leading Lajoie .385 to .376 in the batting race going into that last day. O'Connor ordered rookiethird basemanRed Corriden to station himself in shallow left field. Lajoie bunted five straight times down the third base line and made it to first easily. On his last at-bat, Lajoie reached base on a fielding error, officially giving him a hitless at-bat and lowering his average. O'Connor and coach Harry Howell tried to bribe the official scorer, a woman, to change the call to a hit, offering to buy her a new wardrobe. Cobb won the batting title by less than one percentage point over Lajoie, .385069 to .384095.
The resulting outcry triggered an investigation by American League president Ban Johnson, who declared Cobb the rightful winner of the batting title (though Chalmers awarded cars to both players). At his insistence, Browns' owner Robert Hedges fired both O'Connor and Howell and released them as players; both men were informally banned from baseball for life. O'Connor accepted responsibility for the scheme, but maintained that it was the players' idea; he didn't object because the game was not a factor in the pennant race.[1] To date, it is the most severe penalty handed down to a manager for in-game misconduct. It is tied for the most severe penalty overall ever handed down to a manager; Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds was also banned for life for betting on baseball.
In 1981, however, research revealed that one game was counted twice for Cobb when he went 2-for-3. As a result, his 1910 batting statistics should have been shown as 194-for-506 and .383399, less than 0.0007 behind Lajoie at 227-for-591.[citation needed]
Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
August 25, 2023
jack, connor, catcher, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, jack, connor, catcher, news, newspapers, book. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Jack O Connor catcher news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message John Joseph O Connor June 2 1866 November 14 1937 also known as Peach Pie citation needed was a utility player in Major League Baseball in the American Association the National League and the American League primarily used as an outfielder O Connor appeared in games across four decades Jack O ConnorCatcher Outfielder ManagerBorn 1866 06 02 June 2 1866St Louis Missouri U S Died November 14 1937 1937 11 14 aged 71 St Louis Missouri U S Batted RightThrew RightMLB debutApril 20 1887 for the Cincinnati Red StockingsLast MLB appearanceOctober 9 1910 for the St Louis BrownsMLB statisticsBatting average 263Home runs19Runs batted in738Stolen bases219Managerial record47 107Winning 305TeamsAs player Cincinnati Red Stockings 1887 1888 Columbus Solons 1889 1891 Cleveland Spiders 1892 1898 St Louis Perfectos Cardinals 1899 1900 Pittsburgh Pirates 1900 1902 New York Highlanders 1903 St Louis Browns 1904 1906 1907 1910 As manager St Louis Browns 1910 O Connor was involved in a scandal in 1910 when as player manager of the St Louis Browns he attempted to help Nap Lajoie win the batting title over Ty Cobb O Connor ordered a rookie third baseman to play in a position that allowed Lajoie to bunt and reach first base easily Later O Connor and a coach tried to bribe the official scorer to change a call to a hit Although Cobb won the title the scandal led to an investigation and O Connor and the coach were fired and informally banned from baseball for life Research in 1981 revealed that Cobb s statistics were incorrectly counted and Lajoie should have won the batting title Contents 1 Career 2 Scandal 3 Managerial record 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksCareer EditO Connor began his career as a left fielder and catcher for the Cincinnati Red Stockings and he soon moved his way around the infield He also played for the Columbus Solons from 1889 to 1891 and in 1892 he joined the Cleveland Spiders where he would stay until 1898 when the owners of the St Louis Browns were buying their players from the Spiders who ceased to exist in 1899 O Connor moved west to play with the Perfectos until 10 games into the 1900 season he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates He played one season with the New York Highlanders before finishing his career back in St Louis with the Browns O Connor is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date who have appeared in Major League games in four decades Scandal Edit Jack O Connor in a Coca Cola ad from 1910 as manager of the St Louis BrownsO Connor was the player manager of the Browns in 1910 finishing a dismal 47 107 He tried to help Nap Lajoie win the batting title and the associated 1910 Chalmers Award over Ty Cobb in the last two games of the season a doubleheader at Sportsman s Park Cobb was leading Lajoie 385 to 376 in the batting race going into that last day O Connor ordered rookie third baseman Red Corriden to station himself in shallow left field Lajoie bunted five straight times down the third base line and made it to first easily On his last at bat Lajoie reached base on a fielding error officially giving him a hitless at bat and lowering his average O Connor and coach Harry Howell tried to bribe the official scorer a woman to change the call to a hit offering to buy her a new wardrobe Cobb won the batting title by less than one percentage point over Lajoie 385069 to 384095 The resulting outcry triggered an investigation by American League president Ban Johnson who declared Cobb the rightful winner of the batting title though Chalmers awarded cars to both players At his insistence Browns owner Robert Hedges fired both O Connor and Howell and released them as players both men were informally banned from baseball for life O Connor accepted responsibility for the scheme but maintained that it was the players idea he didn t object because the game was not a factor in the pennant race 1 To date it is the most severe penalty handed down to a manager for in game misconduct It is tied for the most severe penalty overall ever handed down to a manager Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds was also banned for life for betting on baseball In 1981 however research revealed that one game was counted twice for Cobb when he went 2 for 3 As a result his 1910 batting statistics should have been shown as 194 for 506 and 383399 less than 0 0007 behind Lajoie at 227 for 591 citation needed Managerial record EditTeam Year Regular season PostseasonGames Won Lost Win Finish Won Lost Win ResultSLB 1910 154 47 107 305 8th in AL Total 154 47 107 305 0 0 See also Edit Biography portal Baseball portalList of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders List of Major League Baseball players who played in four decadesReferences Edit Bio of Robert Hedges at Society for American Baseball ResearchExternal links EditCareer statistics and player information from Baseball Reference or Baseball Reference Minors Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jack O 27Connor catcher amp oldid 1160355119, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
