O'Brien attended Saint Mary's High School in South Amboy, now Cardinal McCarrick High School, where he has been inducted into the school's sports hall of fame.[1]
O'Brien attended Seattle University, where he played on the basketball team for the Chieftains (along with his brother Eddie) and scored 43 points in a stunning 84–81 upset over the Harlem Globetrotters on January 21, 1952.[2] In 1953, O'Brien became the first player in NCAA history to score 1,000 points in a season.[3] O'Brien would be the shortest NCAA All-American player to be named until 2016 when the similarly 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Tyler Ulis of Kentucky was named a member of the first team. Later he and Eddie were drafted by the NBA's Milwaukee Hawks in 1953, but the twins never played in the NBA.
In a six-season career, O'Brien was a .250 hitter (204-for-815) with four home runs and 59 RBI in 339 games played. From 1956 to 1958, he also doubled as a pitcher, appearing in 25 games (all but one in relief) and 61 innings, surrendering 61 hits, walking 30 and striking out 35. He lost three of four decisions (.250) with an earned run average of 5.61.
While in Pittsburgh, Johnny and Eddie O'Brien became the first twins in major league history to play for the same team in the same game.[4] They are also one of only four brother combinations to play second base/shortstop on the same major league club. The others are Garvin and Granny Hamner, for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945; Frank and Milt Bolling, with the Detroit Tigers in 1958, and Billy and Cal Ripken, for the Baltimore Orioles during the 1980s.
^. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
^Raley, Dan (January 20, 2002). "Fifty years ago tonight, Seattle U. upset the mighty Globetrotters". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, Washington. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
^Gastineau, Mike (2010). The Great Book of Seattle Sports Lists. ReadHowYouWant.com. p. 71. ISBN9781458779748. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
^Neyer, Rob; Epstein, Eddie (2000). Baseball Dynasties: The Greatest Teams of All Time. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 188. ISBN9780393320084. Retrieved 26 December 2017. johnny eddie o'brien.
^Marazzi, Rich; Fiorito, Len (2003). Baseball Players of the 1950s: A Biographical Dictionary of All 1,560 Major Leaguers. McFarland. p. 284. ISBN9780786446889. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
External linksEdit
Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
Johnny O'Brien - Baseballbiography.com
Retrosheet
October 20, 2023
johnny, brien, other, people, with, same, name, john, brien, john, thomas, brien, born, december, 1930, former, backup, second, baseman, pitcher, major, league, baseball, played, pittsburgh, pirates, 1953, 1955, louis, cardinals, 1958, milwaukee, braves, 1959,. For other people with the same name see John O Brien John Thomas O Brien born December 11 1930 is a former backup second baseman and pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates 1953 1955 58 St Louis Cardinals 1958 and Milwaukee Braves 1959 O Brien batted and threw right handed His twin brother Eddie was also a major league infielder Johnny O BrienO Brien with 1960 Seattle RainiersSecond Baseman PitcherBorn 1930 12 11 December 11 1930 age 92 South Amboy New Jersey U S Batted RightThrew RightMLB debutApril 19 1953 for the Pittsburgh PiratesLast MLB appearanceJuly 19 1959 for the Milwaukee BravesMLB statisticsBatting average 250Home runs4Runs batted in59Win loss record1 3Earned run average5 61Innings pitched61TeamsPittsburgh Pirates 1953 1955 1958 St Louis Cardinals 1958 Milwaukee Braves 1959 O Brien attended Saint Mary s High School in South Amboy now Cardinal McCarrick High School where he has been inducted into the school s sports hall of fame 1 O Brien attended Seattle University where he played on the basketball team for the Chieftains along with his brother Eddie and scored 43 points in a stunning 84 81 upset over the Harlem Globetrotters on January 21 1952 2 In 1953 O Brien became the first player in NCAA history to score 1 000 points in a season 3 O Brien would be the shortest NCAA All American player to be named until 2016 when the similarly 5 ft 9 in 1 75 m Tyler Ulis of Kentucky was named a member of the first team Later he and Eddie were drafted by the NBA s Milwaukee Hawks in 1953 but the twins never played in the NBA In a six season career O Brien was a 250 hitter 204 for 815 with four home runs and 59 RBI in 339 games played From 1956 to 1958 he also doubled as a pitcher appearing in 25 games all but one in relief and 61 innings surrendering 61 hits walking 30 and striking out 35 He lost three of four decisions 250 with an earned run average of 5 61 While in Pittsburgh Johnny and Eddie O Brien became the first twins in major league history to play for the same team in the same game 4 They are also one of only four brother combinations to play second base shortstop on the same major league club The others are Garvin and Granny Hamner for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945 Frank and Milt Bolling with the Detroit Tigers in 1958 and Billy and Cal Ripken for the Baltimore Orioles during the 1980s In retirement O Brien worked variously as a city councilman in Seattle a sportscaster of Seattle University basketball games along with Keith Jackson the head of security sales and promotions at the Kingdome and an energy consultant for the Alaskan shipping industry 5 References Edit Cardinal McCarrick High School Hall of Fame Archived from the original on September 28 2007 Retrieved April 5 2007 Raley Dan January 20 2002 Fifty years ago tonight Seattle U upset the mighty Globetrotters Seattle Post Intelligencer Seattle Washington Retrieved January 24 2008 Gastineau Mike 2010 The Great Book of Seattle Sports Lists ReadHowYouWant com p 71 ISBN 9781458779748 Retrieved 26 December 2017 Neyer Rob Epstein Eddie 2000 Baseball Dynasties The Greatest Teams of All Time W W Norton amp Company p 188 ISBN 9780393320084 Retrieved 26 December 2017 johnny eddie o brien Marazzi Rich Fiorito Len 2003 Baseball Players of the 1950s A Biographical Dictionary of All 1 560 Major Leaguers McFarland p 284 ISBN 9780786446889 Retrieved 27 December 2017 External links EditCareer statistics and player information from MLB or Baseball Reference or Baseball Reference Minors Johnny O Brien Baseballbiography com Retrosheet Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Johnny O 27Brien amp oldid 1159091132, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
