William H. "Dick" Hurley (1847–Aft. 1916) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player who is notable for being the substitute player for the first paid professional club, the

Cincinnati Red Stockings The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) 1867� ...

. Hurley was born in

Honesdale, Pennsylvania Honesdale is a borough in and the county seat of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 4,458 at the time of the 2020 census. Honesdale is located northeast of Scranton in a rural area that provides many recr ...

. After attending

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and playing on its baseball team, he played for the Buckeyes of Cincinnati, one of the leading amateur teams in the Midwest. Along with two of his teammates,

Andy Leonard Andrew Jackson Leonard (June 1, 1846 – August 21, 1903) was a professional baseball player of the 19th century, who played outfield and was also a utility infielder. He played left field for the original Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first fully ...

and

Charlie Sweasy Charles James Sweasy (November 2, 1847 – March 30, 1908), born ''Swasey'', played second base for the original Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first fully professional baseball team. He returned to Cincinnati in 1876, hired by the new club th ...

, he was recruited by

Harry Wright William Henry "Harry" Wright (January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895) was an English-born American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, t ...

as the utility man for the rival Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869–70, being paid $600 per season for his efforts. He briefly returned to professional baseball in the fledgling National Association as 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 ...

for the

Washington Olympics The Olympic Club of Washington, D.C., or Washington Olympics in modern nomenclature, was an early professional baseball team. When the National Association of Base Ball Players permitted openly professional clubs for the 1869 season, the Olympic ...

in . In 1916, Hurley managed the

Great Falls Electrics The Great Falls Electrics were a minor league baseball team that operated out of Great Falls, Montana. The team was formed in 1911 as part of the old Union Association league. They also played in the Northwestern League from 1916 to 1917. The team ...

in the

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for five seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, and 1886–1887. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by the We ...

References

The Baseball Page

External links

Buckeyes of Cincinnati
Cincinnati Buckeyes players Cincinnati Red Stockings players Washington Olympics (NABBP) players Washington Olympics players Baseball players from Pennsylvania 19th-century baseball players 1847 births Year of death missing {{US-baseball-outfielder-1840s-stub