John J. Healy (October 27, 1866 – March 16, 1899), nicknamed "Egyptian" and "Long John", was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

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), ...

. Healy played for the St. Louis Maroons,

Indianapolis Hoosiers Indianapolis Hoosiers was the name of three major league and at least three minor league baseball clubs based in Indianapolis. * Indianapolis Hoosiers (American Association), which played in 1884 * Indianapolis Hoosiers (National League), which pla ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

, Chicago White Stockings, Toledo Maumees,

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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, and

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 ...

from 1885 to 1892. He was tall and weighed ."Egyptian Healy Statistics and History"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved September 2, 2011.

Career

Healy was born in Cairo, Illinois, which earned him the "Egyptian" nickname, in 1866. He joined 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 ...

's St. Louis Maroons in 1885 and made his Major League debut on September 11 against the Chicago White Stockings, at the age of 18. He made eight starts late in the season, going 1–7 with a 3.00

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. In 1886, Healy pitched 353.2 innings and went 17–23 with a 2.88 ERA. He led the Maroons' pitchers in

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

and wins. Healy, whose key pitch was the

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

, also finished among the league's top 10 in

strikeout 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 deno ...

s (213),

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

(118), and

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third stri ...

es (40). Healy was purchased by the Indianapolis Hoosiers on March 8, 1887. That season, he was the ace of the Indianapolis pitching staff and finished with a record of 12–29. His 29 losses were the most of any pitcher in the NL. Healy also went on an "around-the-world" tour with other American baseball players that year, playing exhibition games in Europe, Asia, and Australia. When Healy returned home, the mayor of his hometown honored him with "a special ceremony and a pin." After going 12–24 in 1888, Healy was traded to the Washington Nationals for

Jim Whitney James Evans "Grasshopper Jim" Whitney (November 10, 1857 – May 21, 1891) was an American professional baseball player. He was a right-handed pitcher over parts of ten seasons (1881–1890) with the Boston Red Caps/Beaneaters, Kansas City Cowbo ...

. Healy started 12 games for Washington, going 1–11 with a 6.24 ERA before being released on July 8. He signed with the Chicago White Stockings three days later and went 1–4 for them before being released again. During the 1880s, Healy had an overall

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

of 44–98; his .310 winning percentage was the lowest of any Major League pitcher in the decade. Healy spent 1890 with the Toledo Maumees 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 ...

. Once again, he led his team in innings pitched (389) and wins (22), setting career-highs in both categories. He had a winning record for the only time in his career, and he finished fourth in the AA with 225 strikeouts. In 1891, Healy was sold to the Baltimore Orioles. He compiled a record of 8–10 that season and 3–6 the next before Baltimore released him. Healy then finished his Major League career by playing one month for the Louisville Colonels. He had a career win–loss record of 78–136, and in 2004, baseball historian Bill James wrote that he was the fifth-unluckiest pitcher of all-time in regards to his record. Healy played for the minor league

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

in 1895 and 1896. He then retired from the game and worked as a

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

policeman before becoming ill. On March 16, 1899, Healy died of

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

in St. Louis."Egyptian Healy's Obituary"
thedeadballera.com. Retrieved September 2, 2011. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Healy, Egyptian 1866 births 1899 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers St. Louis Maroons players Indianapolis Hoosiers (NL) players Washington Nationals (1886–1889) players Chicago White Stockings players Toledo Maumees players Baltimore Orioles (AA) players Baltimore Orioles (NL) players Louisville Colonels players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players 19th-century baseball players Baseball players from Illinois People from Cairo, Illinois 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Missouri Burials at Calvary Cemetery (St. Louis)