Jeremiah F. "Jerry" Dorgan (1856 – June 10, 1891) was an American professional

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 tea ...

player from 1879 to 1887. He played four seasons of

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), ...

as a

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

and

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

for five major league clubs. He appeared in 131 major league games and compiled a .282

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 ...

with 22 doubles, four

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

s, no

home runs 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 ...

and 49 RBIs. Dorgan's baseball career reportedly came to an early end due to his "unconquerable appetite for liquor"; he died of alcohol poisoning in 1891 after being discovered intoxicated in a Connecticut barn with an empty liquor bottle by his side.

Early years

Dorgan was born in

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.Mike Dorgan Michael Cornelius Dorgan (October 2, 1853 – April 26, 1909) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball, principally as an outfielder, including five seasons and 425 games with the ...

, played ten seasons of

from 1877 to 1890.

Professional baseball player

Dorgan began his career as a professional baseball player in 1879 with the

Holyoke, Massachusetts Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...

team where he compiled a .304

. Dorgan made his major league debut in July 1880 with the

Worcester Ruby Legs The Worcester Worcesters were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team from 1880 to 1882 in the National League. The team is referred to, at times, as the Brown Stockings or the Ruby Legs; however, no contemporary sources from the time exist tha ...

in 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 ...

. He appeared in 10 games for Worcester, nine of them as an outfielder, and had seven hits in 35 at bats. Dorgan also appeared in 22 games for the

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

baseball club in 1880. In 1881, Dorgan played for the Brooklyn Atlantics and New York Mets in the Eastern Championship Association. The following year he returned to the major leagues with the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

. He appeared in 44 games for Philadelphia, 25 as a catcher and 22 as an outfielder. He compiled a .282 average before being released by the club on September 4, 1882. There is no record of Dorgan playing organized baseball in 1883. In 1884, he appeared in 34 games for the

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 ...

and four games for the Brooklyn Atlantics. He was released by Indianapolis in July and by Brooklyn in August 1884. He compiled a .299 batting average in 154 at bats during the 1884 season. In 1885, Dorgan appeared in 39 games, all in the outfield, for 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 National League. He compiled a .286 batting average for Detroit. He appeared in his last major league game as a member of the Detroit team on June 25, 1885. After his major league career ended, Dorgan played two additional seasons in the Eastern League, for the Meriden Silvermen in 1886 and for the Hartford Dark Blues in 1887. Over the course of four major league seasons, Dorgan appeared in 131 major league games and compiled a .282

with 22 doubles, four

s, 0

and 49 RBIs. Alcohol was blamed for the early end to his career. ''The Sporting Life'' called him "a fine outfielder and a heavy batsman" who had promise, but whose career ended prematurely due to "irregular habits" and "his unconquerable appetite for liquor."

Death

Dorgan died in June 1891 at age 35, after being found lying inebriated at 2 a.m. with an empty liquor bottle beside him in a stable behind the Kilbourn House in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settler ...

. He was brought to the police lockup in Middletown where he was discovered to be dead in his cell two hours later.(reprinted on the Deadball Era web site) His cause of death was stated to be alcohol poisoning and/or alcoholism. ''The Sporting Life'' published a front-page account of his death under the headline, "THE WAGES OF SIN: A Once Promising Career Ended By Disgraceful Death." Dorgan was interred at the St. John Cemetery in Middletown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorgan, Jerry 1856 births 1891 deaths Baseball players from Connecticut Major League Baseball right fielders Major League Baseball catchers Worcester Ruby Legs players Philadelphia Athletics (AA) players Indianapolis Hoosiers (AA) players Brooklyn Atlantics (AA) players Detroit Wolverines players Alcohol-related deaths in Connecticut Holyoke (minor league baseball) players Albany (minor league baseball) players New York Metropolitans (minor league) players Brooklyn Atlantics (minor league) players Meriden (minor league baseball) players Columbus Stars (baseball) players Meriden Silvermen players Hartford Dark Blues (minor league) players 19th-century baseball players