James Joseph "Nixey" Callahan (March 18, 1874 – October 4, 1934) was an American pitcher and left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Colts/Orphans, and Chicago White Sox. He also managed the White Sox, as well as the Pittsburgh Pirates. Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, he died at age 60 in Boston.[1][2][3]
| Jimmy Callahan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher / Left fielder | |
| Born: March 18, 1874 Fitchburg, Massachusetts | |
| Died: October 4, 1934 (aged 60) Boston, Massachusetts | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 12, 1894, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 29, 1913, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .273 |
| Home runs | 11 |
| Runs batted in | 394 |
| Win–loss record | 99–73 |
| Earned run average | 3.39 |
| Strikeouts | 445 |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
On September 20, 1902, Callahan pitched the first no-hitter in American League history.[4] Also, he is the only pitcher to have collected five hits in a game three times. (June 29, 1897; May 18, 1902; and May 18, 1903).[5]
Only two years earlier, in the other extreme of his career, he gave up 48 hits in two consecutive starts in 1900, yielding 23 on September 11 and 25 in the game before.[6]
Unusually, Callahan took a five-year break from playing in the American League to run his own semi-pro team, "Callahan's Logan Squares". He said that he did this for financial reasons, but he returned when his team's attendances fell.
Callahan finished his major league career with 901 hits and 99 wins. Since then, no player has matched both these numbers, although Babe Ruth came close. Three nineteenth-century pitcher/infielders beat these numbers: John Montgomery Ward, Kid Gleason and Dave Foutz.
See also
References
- ^ John McCollister -The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly: Pittsburgh Pirates 2008 - 1572439823 Jimmy “Nixey” Callahan. Years Managed: 1916–1917 Record: 85–129 League Titles: 0 World Championships: 0 Of Interest: Following their poor record in Jimmy Callahan's first season as manager in 1916, the Pirates were even worse the next year. Eventually, the situation became too much for this strict disciplinarian to bear, and he mysteriously disappeared from the team 185
- ^ John Thorn Base Ball: A Journal of the Early Game, Vol. 7: - Volume 7 2014 -- Page 45 0786479019 "His name was Jimmy Callahan. James Joseph Callahan was born at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, on March 18, 1874, to Irish immigrants James and Margaret (Glynn) Callahan.1 In boyhood, his mother nicknamed him “Nixey” for reasons long since lost to history. He received his primary education at the local public school, where he presumably practiced baseball in the playground during recess and after class. But at age 14, Jimmy lost his father and had to abandon further schooling to support his mother. He first worked at a cotton mill and was later trained as a plumber's apprentice, neither of which he especially enjoyed.2 It was while employed at the cotton mill that Jimmy emerged as a talented pitcher for the company team. His next stop was the semi-professional team of Pepperell, one of the best in Massachusetts. Reportedly, he won 28 games for Pepperell in 1891.
- ^ Brian McKenna - Clark Griffith: Baseball's Statesman 2010- Page 68 0557472954 "A forever-disputed milestone occurred on June 18 when Cap Anson notched his 3,000th hit.136 Chicago set the still-standing record for runs scored in a game in support of pitcher Jimmy Callahan, nicknamed Nixey, on June 29. On thirty hits, the Colts tallied 36 runs against only seven for Louisville. Callahan first drew interest as a pitcher on a Massachusetts textile team and, later, in semi-pro ball. In 1895, he led the Eastern League with a 30-9 record for Springfield. "
- ^ "American League No Hitters" Archived 2008-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, Baseball-Almanac.com
- ^ "Charlton's Baseball Chronology" Archived 2007-05-31 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Baseball Digest (February 1998), p34
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Nixey Callahan managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
- Nixie Callahan at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
- Nixey Callahan at Find a Grave