Jeremiah Hurley (April, 1875 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

– December 27, 1919 in New York City), was a professional baseball player who played

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 ...

in nine games for the 1901

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and one game for the 1907

Brooklyn Superbas 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, Californi ...

. Hurley's recorded professional minor-league career began at 23 years of age in 1898, when he played for Utica of the Class B New York State League. He spent two more seasons in Utica and then joined Utica's fellow NYSL member

Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

. Near the end of the 1901 season, the last-place

of 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 ...

signed him as a catcher, backing up

Bill Bergen William Aloysius Bergen (June 13, 1878 – December 19, 1943) was an American professional baseball catcher. He played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1901 to 1911 for the Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Superbas/Dodgers.

. He returned to the minors for four more seasons, first with the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

of the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cl ...

and later for

Binghamton Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

and Amsterdam-Gloversville-Johnstown of the New York State League. Before the 1906 season, the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

signed Hurley to a major league contract, but he was released before the season began. The

signed Hurley before the 1907 season, and he appeared in one regular-season game (the second game of the season) before being released. Ironically, Hurley's former Pittsburgh teammate

took his spot on the Brooklyn roster. Hurley spent the rest of the 1907 season with 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 ...

, who won the Eastern League pennant. In 1908, he played for the Eastern League's last-place team, the

Rochester Bronchos The Rochester Bronchos were a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York, from 1899 to 1911. In 1899, the franchise was purchased by a syndicate of local businessmen doing business as the "Flower City Baseball Company": George W. Swee ...

. He moved down a level in 1909 to Elmira of the Class B

New York State League The New York State League was an independent baseball league that played six seasons between 2007 and 2012 in New York State and the New York City metro area. Over 500 NYSL players have been signed by professional teams. Players from forty-eight ...

(also known as "the State League.") Hurley was appointed Elmira's manager in mid-season, and even though the team finished a respectable 68-68, he was fired at the end of the season. Even though newspaper accounts indicate that he was a popular player, his experience managing in Elmira in 1909 was apparently not a positive one. After the season, Hurley told a writer for the

Syracuse Journal The ''Syracuse Herald-Journal'' (1925–2001) was an evening newspaper in Syracuse, New York, United States, with roots going back to 1839 when it was named the ''Western State Journal''. The final issue — volume 124, number 37,500 — was publis ...

, "I am through with base ball for good. I have no desire to manage any more base ball clubs." However, after being traded to the

Wilkes-Barre Barons The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a basketball team from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Barons played between 1933 and 1980 in different American leagues. The team won 11 titles during this time, including while playing in the American Basketball ...

and initially refusing to sign a contract, Hurley did come back to play for the State League's Syracuse Stars in 1910. There, he had the honor of catching future Hall of Famer

Grover Cleveland Alexander Grover Cleveland Alexander (February 26, 1887 – November 4, 1950), nicknamed "Old Pete", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1911 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. He ...

. Jerry Hurley played at least one more season of pro ball in 1911 for two different Class B

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second leagu ...

teams. He probably also turned up three years later on the roster of the 1914 Poughkeepsie Honey Bugs, who won the Class D Atlantic League pennant. The

Baseball Reference Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...

database officially lists this Jerry Hurley as a different man by the same name, however. A team photo of the 1914 Poughkeepsie squad has survived showing a player named "Hurley" who looks like the same Hurley who appears on the 1907 Toronto team photos. Hurley died on December 27, 1919, at the age of 44.

References

External links

1875 births 1919 deaths Baseball players from New York City Major League Baseball catchers Brooklyn Superbas players Cincinnati Reds players Utica Pent-Ups players Utica Reds players Schenectady Electricians players St. Paul Saints (AA) players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Binghamton Bingoes players Amsterdam-Gloversville-Johnstown Jags players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Rochester Bronchos players Elmira Colonels players Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Altoona Rams players Harrisburg Senators players Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Queens) {{US-baseball-catcher-1870s-stub