Dennis Joseph "Dan" Brouthers (; May 8, 1858 – August 2, 1932) was an American

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

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), ...

whose career spanned the period from to , with a brief return in . Nicknamed "Big Dan" for his size, he was and weighed , which was large by 19th-century standards. Recognized as the first great slugger in baseball history, and among the greatest sluggers of his era, he held the record for career

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s from to , with his final total of 106 tying for the fourth most of the 19th century. His career slugging percentage of .519 remained the Major League record for a player with at least 4,000 at bats until

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the ...

edged ahead of him in 1922. At the time of his initial retirement, he also ranked second in career triples (205), and third in

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(1,296) and hits. A dominant hitter during the prime of his career, he led (or was in the top of) the league in most offensive categories, including

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, runs scored, runs batted in (RBI), on-base percentage and hits. He led the league in batting average five times, the most by a 19th-century player, and his career .342 batting average still ranks ninth all-time. Brouthers is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date who have appeared in Major League games in four decades. He was also an active players' union member, and was elected vice president of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players. Brouthers was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945 by the Veterans Committee.

Early life

Brouthers was born in Sylvan Lake, New York, to Michael and Annie Brooder,

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

immigrants from Ireland; upon arriving in New York, Michael Brooder had been recruited to Dutchess County to work in

open pit Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of minin ...

iron mines in the town of Beekman. Brouthers may have been named after Saint Denis, as a local Catholic church by that name was founded in the same year. Brouthers had siblings named Martin, Ellen and Margaret. The spelling of the family's name gradually shifted from ''Brooder'' to ''Bruder'' to ''Brouthers'' by 1880. The family eventually moved to the nearby hamlet of Fishkill Plains before settling in the village of

Wappingers Falls Wappingers Falls is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 5,522. The community was named for the cascade in Wappinger Creek. The Wappingers Falls post office covers areas in the tow ...

where Michael found safer work at a textile printing mill. Brouthers played organized baseball beginning in childhood, from playing in the local sandlots to the semi-professional Actives of Wappingers Falls. On July 7, , while running the bases, he collided at home plate with a catcher, named Johnny Quigley, of the Clippers of Harlem. Quigley was knocked unconscious, having suffered a traumatic head injury, and later died from these injuries on August 12. The 19-year-old Brouthers was cleared of any wrongdoing by the authorities.

Major League career

Troy

Brouthers made his Major League debut on June 23, , for the

Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the NCAA's Division I-A in 2001, became a football only member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, and joined that conference for all other sports in 2005. Troy Univer ...

, and contributed a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in a come-from-behind victory against the Syracuse Stars. Although he was a

, he was called upon to pitch that season with the Trojans in three games, one of which was on August 21 against

Tommy Bond Thomas Ross Bond (September 16, 1926 – September 24, 2005) was an American actor, director, producer and writer. He was best known for his work as a child actor for two nonconsecutive periods on ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') comedies (fir ...

and the

Boston Red Caps The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

. Brouthers lost 16–0, and within two weeks he was released from the club. He hit .274 that first season, with four home runs, and had 17 RBIs in 39 games played. After his release, Brouthers played for a minor league team in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

, and on one occasion in , he hit a game-winning home run in an exhibition game versus the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

, off future Hall of Fame pitcher Pud Galvin. He hit well enough in the minors to get another shot with the Trojans, which lasted just three games when he had only two hits in 12 at bats, and he was released again.

Buffalo

Brouthers got his first chance to be an everyday player in , when he was signed by the Bisons, the team that he did well against the previous year. That season he batted .319, and played with them until the team folded after the season. In his first season with the Bisons, he led 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 ...

(NL) in home runs and slugging percentage. Brouthers, along with teammates

Jack Rowe John Charles "Jack" Rowe (December 8, 1856 – April 25, 1911) was an American professional baseball player, manager and team owner from 1877 to 1898. He played 12 years in Major League Baseball, as a shortstop (657 games), catcher (298 games), ...

Hardy Richardson Abram Harding "Hardy" Richardson (April 21, 1855 – January 14, 1931), also known as "Hardie" and "Old True Blue", was an American professional baseball player whose career spanned from 1875 to 1892 with a brief minor league comeback in 1898. He ...

and

Deacon White James Laurie "Deacon" White (December 2, 1847 – July 7, 1939) was an American baseball player who was one of the principal stars during the first two decades of the sport's professional era. The outstanding catcher of the 1870s during baseball ...

, became known as the "Big Four". In 1882 and he won his first two batting titles, posting .368 and .374 averages, respectively. Along with his two batting titles, during his time in Buffalo he also led the NL in slugging five times, hits and

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, whil ...

twice each, and triples and RBIs once each, with his 1883 total of 97 RBIs setting a new Major League record;

Cap Anson Adrian Constantine Anson (April 17, 1852 – April 14, 1922), nicknamed "Cap" (for "Captain") and "Pop", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman. Including his time in the National Association (NA), he played a record 27 ...

had set the previous mark of 83 the year before, and retook the record the following year with a total of 102. On July 19, , Brouthers went 6-for-6 with two doubles in a 25–5 defeat of the Philadelphia Quakers.

Detroit and The Brotherhood

At the end of the season, Buffalo was going through financial trouble and were forced to sell off their players, so "The Big Four" were sold to the

Detroit Wolverines The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant (and winning the pre ...

of the NL for US$7,000. In , his first season in Detroit, he again led the league in slugging percentage, the sixth year in a row, and led the league in total bases and doubles and claimed his first home run title. He finished within the top 10 in most offensive categories, including a third-place finish in the batting race with a lofty .370 average. On September 10, , Brouthers hit three home runs‚ along with a double and a single, to set the NL record with 15 total bases in one game. This mark tied the Major League record at the time, as

Guy Hecker Guy Jackson Hecker (April 3, 1856 – December 3, 1938) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was born in Youngsville, Pennsylvania. His debut game took place on May 2, 1882. His final game took place on September 30, 1890. Du ...

of the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

totaled 15 the previous month in 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 ...

. The Detroit team was filled with stars from the era, including future Hall of Famers

Sam Thompson Samuel Luther "Big Sam" Thompson (March 5, 1860 – November 7, 1922) was an American professional baseball player from 1884 to 1898 and with a brief comeback in 1906. At , the Indiana native was one of the larger players of his day and was known ...

and Ned Hanlon, as well as second baseman

Fred Dunlap Frederick C. "Sure Shot" Dunlap (May 21, 1859 – December 1, 1902) was a second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball from 1880 to 1891. He was the highest paid player in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1889. He has also been rated ...

, the "Big Four", and the pitching of Lady Baldwin and Charlie Getzien. The team finished with a record of 87 wins and 36 losses, in second place behind the Chicago White Stockings by games. During the off-season, on November 11, , The Executive Council of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players‚ formed in 1885 as the first organized players' union, met and re-elected

John Montgomery Ward John Montgomery Ward (March 3, 1860 – March 4, 1925), known as Monte Ward, was an American Major League Baseball pitcher, shortstop, second baseman, third baseman, manager, executive, union organizer, owner and author. Ward, of English descent ...

as president, and elected Brouthers as vice president. In , with the 1886 roster intact, the Wolverines finished in first place, besting the Quakers by games. Brouthers batted .338, and led the league in runs scored with 153, doubles with 36, and on-base percentage, while again finishing in the top 10 in most offensive categories. The Wolverines, behind the bats of Brouthers, Thompson and Richardson, led the League in batting, runs scored and slugging, and went on to face the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

in a best-of-15 post-season tournament, the "World's Series". The Wolverines sealed a series championship with their eighth victory in 11 games; however, the two teams finished the series anyway, with Detroit winning 10 games to the Browns' five. Brouthers only played in one of those games, getting two hits in three at bats. Following the season, on November 17, , members of the NL officially recognized the Brotherhood and met with a Brotherhood committee that consisted of three players – Ward‚ Hanlon and Brouthers. The Detroit team did not fare as well, finishing in fifth place with a record of 68–63, which was a full 16 games behind the first-place New York Giants. Brouthers' numbers declined as well, as he did not produce at the same level of his previous seasons. Even with the lower numbers, he still led the league in runs scored with 118, and doubles for the third year in a row. The team's decline is attributed to prolonged injuries sustained by key players, while turmoil that unfolded concerning veteran stars' salary demands, and with falling attendance numbers, the club was forced to fold at the season's end. Brouthers was then purchased by the Boston Beaneaters of the NL on October 16.

Boston

In , his only season with the Beaneaters, he batted a league-leading .373, along with 105 runs scored and 118 runs batted in; he

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

only six times. The first strikeout occurred on June 11 against

Mickey Welch Michael Francis Welch (July 4, 1859 – July 30, 1941), nicknamed "Smiling Mickey", was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He stood tall and weighed . He was the third pitcher to accumulate 300 career victories. Welch was born in Brooklyn, New Y ...

of the Giants. After the season, he – along with many Major League players – jumped to the Players' League, a league established by the Brotherhood which competed against the two other Major Leagues already in existence. Brouthers signed with the Boston Reds, and batted .330 while leading the league in on-base percentage and slugging. The Reds, behind the talents of Brouthers,

Harry Stovey Harry Duffield Stovey ('' né'' Stowe; December 20, 1856 – September 20, 1937) was a 19th-century Major League Baseball player and the first player in major league history to hit 100 home runs. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Stovey played f ...

, Hardy Richardson,

Charles Radbourn Charles Gardner Radbourn (December 11, 1854 – February 5, 1897), nicknamed "Old Hoss", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for Buffalo (1880), Providence (1881–1885), ...

and

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

King Kelly Michael Joseph "King" Kelly (December 31, 1857 – November 8, 1894), also commonly known as "$10,000 Kelly", was an American outfielder, catcher, and manager in various professional American baseball leagues including the National League, Inter ...

, finished in first place, games ahead of the

Brooklyn Ward's Wonders The Brooklyn Ward's Wonders were a baseball team who played in the Players' League in 1890. The team's nickname derived from its superstar shortstop, hall of famer John Montgomery Ward. The team finished with a 76–56 record, finishing in second ...

. The Players' League lasted just the one season, and the Reds merged into the American Association, carrying many of the championship team's previous players. Again, the team won the league's championship, finishing games ahead of the St. Louis Browns. Brouthers led the league in batting average (.350), on-base percentage and slugging, while finishing second in triples with 19, sixth in doubles with 26, and third in RBIs with 109.

Later career

After the American Association folded following the season, Brouthers was sent to the

Brooklyn Grooms The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Califo ...

of the NL, where he played two seasons. Most of his success came in that first season, when he led the league in batting average, hits, RBIs and total bases. For the season, he played in only 77 of the team's games, but did well, hitting .337. After the season, Brouthers was traded along with

Willie Keeler William Henry Keeler (March 3, 1872 – January 1, 1923), nicknamed "Wee Willie" because of his small stature, was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1892 to 1910, primarily for the Baltimore Orioles and Brooklyn ...

to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

for Billy Shindle and George Treadway. This trade brought in two future Hall of Fame players, which added to the already established Orioles core of players including

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890 ...

, catcher

Wilbert Robinson Wilbert Robinson (June 29, 1864 – August 8, 1934), nicknamed "Uncle Robbie", was an American catcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Philadelphia Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals ...

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 ...

Hughie Jennings Hugh Ambrose Jennings (April 2, 1869 – February 1, 1928) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won N ...

, and center fielder

Joe Kelley Joseph James Kelley (December 9, 1871 – August 14, 1943) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who starred in the outfield of the Baltimore Orioles teams of the 1890s. Making up the nucleus of the Orioles along with J ...

, all future Hall of Fame members. The Orioles won the league's championship that season, and it was Brouthers' last full season in the majors, as he again produced great numbers, batting .347, finishing seventh in total bases, fifth in RBIs (128), fourth in doubles (39), and fifth in triples (23). During his career, and most notably during his time in Baltimore, he was known to always have his dog, an

Irish setter The Irish Setter ( ga, sotar rua, literally "red setter") is a setter, a breed of gundog, and family dog. The term ''Irish Setter'' is commonly used to encompass the show-bred dog recognised by the American Kennel Club as well as the field-bred ...

named Kelly, and had him sit in the players' area. It is claimed that the players never minded much, as he was very well-behaved and never left the area to run out on the field or made much noise. Early in the season, Baltimore sold Brouthers to the

for $500, as his skills seemed to have diminished, and he only played in 24 of Louisville's games that season; he came back to hit .309 for them, ending the year with a .300 overall mark. Following the season, Louisville sold him to the Philadelphia Phillies for $500, where he played in 57 games in , batting .344. It was his last season in the majors until he appeared for the New York Giants, where he was hitless in a two-game stint before retiring. Brouthers is still among the all-time leaders in many offensive categories. His .342 batting average ranks ninth, 205 triples ranks eighth, and his .423 on-base percentage ranks 15th. He is tied with

Mike Tiernan Michael Joseph Tiernan (January 21, 1867November 7, 1918), nicknamed "Silent Mike", was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB), exclusively for the New York Giants, from 1887 to 1899. Early lif ...

for fourth among 19th-century home run hitters with a total of 106, behind

Roger Connor Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

(138), Sam Thompson (127), and Stovey (122).

Later life and legacy

Brouthers played minor league baseball for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

of the Eastern League, where he won a batting title with a .415 average. Later he played for the Poughkeepsie Colts of the Hudson River League, batting a league-leading .373 at age 46. He remained near baseball for many years, working for his former teammate and New York Giants

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

John McGraw, who placed him in charge of the Polo Grounds press gate. He was with the Giants for nearly 20 years in this and other capacities. On New Year's Eve in 1884, Brouthers married Mary Ellen Croak, an Irish immigrant to New York and fellow Catholic, at St. Mary's in Wappingers Falls. They had four children together and were married for 48 years until his death. Brouthers died at the age of 74 at his home in East Orange, New Jersey, and is interred at St. Mary's Church Cemetery in Wappingers Falls, New York. There is a statue dedicated to him located in Veteran's Park in this small village. In , Brouthers and several other stars of the era prior to 1910 were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. In honor of his achievements in Buffalo, he was inducted into the newly formed

Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame The Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame was started by the Buffalo Bisons organization in 1985 to honor former members of the Buffalo Bisons (1878, 1887–1888), Buffalo Bisons (1879–1885), Buffalo Bisons (1886–1970), Buffalo Bisons (1890), Buffalo ...

in 1985. In 1999, a survey of the

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

ranked him as the sixth-greatest player of the 19th century.

References

External links

* , o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brouthers, Dan 1858 births 1932 deaths 19th-century baseball players Baltimore (minor league baseball) players Baltimore Orioles (NL) players Boston Beaneaters players Boston Reds (AA) players Boston Reds (PL) players Brooklyn Atlantics (minor league) players Brooklyn Grooms players Buffalo Bisons (NL) players Catholics from New York (state) Detroit Wolverines players Louisville Colonels players Major League Baseball first basemen Minor league baseball managers National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees National League batting champions National League home run champions National League RBI champions Newburgh Hill Climbers players New York Giants (NL) players New York New Yorks players People from Beekman, New York People from East Orange, New Jersey Sportspeople from Manhattan Baseball players from New York City People from Wappingers Falls, New York Philadelphia Phillies players Poughkeepsie Colts players Rochester Bronchos players Rochester (minor league baseball) players Springfield Ponies players Springfield Maroons players Toronto Canucks players Troy Trojans players American people of Irish descent