Bernard McLaughlin (1862 – February 13, 1921) was an Irish born

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player. He played three seasons in the majors, spaced at three year intervals, for three teams, in three leagues, at three positions. McLaughlin made his major league debut in for the

Kansas City Cowboys Several sports team in Kansas City, Missouri have used the name Cowboys: *Kansas City Cowboys (Union Association), a baseball team in the Union Association in 1884 *Kansas City Cowboys (National League), a baseball team in the National League in 18 ...

of the short-lived Union Association. With the Cowboys, he was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

, playing in about half their games—more than any other Cowboys outfielder except Taylor Shafer. After playing in the minor leagues with Waterbury of the Eastern League in , where he was the team's starting

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

, McLaughlin returned to the majors in with the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

's Philadelphia Quakers. With the Quakers, McLaughlin played primarily as a second baseman, splitting time at the position with

Charlie Bastian Charles A. Bastian (March 2, 1858 – November 10, 1943) was an American professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Wilmington Quicksteps, Kansas City Cowboys, Philadelphia Quakers, Chicago White Stockings ...

and Charlie Ferguson (who was also one of the Quakers' starting pitchers). After two more seasons away from the majors, McLaughlin resurfaced in . This time, he was playing shortstop for the Syracuse Stars of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

in their only major league season. McLaughlin's double-play partner with the 7th-place Stars was 22-year-old rookie Cupid Childs, who would go on to a fine career. For McLaughlin, however, it was the end of the road. McLaughlin's brother, Frank McLaughlin, was also a major league player. The two were teammates on the Cowboys, with Frank ending his career as Barney was starting his.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, Barney Major League Baseball infielders Kansas City Cowboys (UA) players Philadelphia Quakers players Syracuse Stars (AA) players Pottsville Antarcites players Reading Actives players Jersey City Skeeters players Trenton Trentonians players Waterbury Brassmen players Charleston Quakers players Lowell Chippies players Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Lowell Lowells players Major League Baseball players from Ireland Irish baseball players Baseball players from Massachusetts 1862 births 1921 deaths 19th-century baseball players Irish emigrants to the United States