James Henry Foran (c. 1847 – November 29, 1906) was an American Major League Baseball player from Pennsylvania, and a participant in the first game ever played in a professional baseball league, between his

Fort Wayne Kekiongas The Fort Wayne Kekiongas were a professional baseball team, notable for winning the first professional league game on May 4, 1871. Though based in Fort Wayne, they were usually listed in game reports as simply "Kekionga" or "the Kekiongas", per the ...

and the Cleveland Forest Citys on May 4, 1871. Foran had one single in four at-bats, one of only four hits Ft. Wayne had that day; nonetheless, the Kekiongas won, 2-0. Foran first played in the amateur NABBP in 1869, holding down third base for the original

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 is credited with 147 hits and 147 runs scored against only 89 "hands lost" (one of the best marks on the club), leading the Athletics to a 45-8 record. (A batter was given a "hand lost" every time he made at out at bat or on the base paths.) In 1870, he moved to the Union club of Lansingburgh, New York (who changed their name to the better-known Troy Haymakers in 1871); Foran played the outfield and notched 109 hits in 39 games. The following season, with the advent of the all-professional National Association, Foran headed to Fort Wayne, Indiana—easily the smallest city in the fledgling circuit. He played mostly first base, but did appear in three games in the outfield. In total, he appeared in 19

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

as a member of the Kekiongas, and had a .348 batting average, with 31

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

in 89

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s—by far the best on the team, and 13th-best in the entire Association. Foran also led the team in hits,

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

, RBIs,

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

, and tied for the team lead in home runs, with one. Despite the presence of Foran and 19-year-old pitcher Bobby Mathews (who would go on to win nearly 300 MLB games), the Kekiongas franchise folded after compiling a 7-12 record, finishing seventh among the nine teams in the league. Foran never again played in MLB, but, after making his way to California, did play for San Francisco and Oakland clubs in the original

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

from 1879-81. Jim Foran died in Newark, New Jersey, and is interred at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Newark.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Foran, Jim Major League Baseball first basemen Philadelphia Athletics (NABBP) players Troy Haymakers (NABBP) players Fort Wayne Kekiongas players Baseball players from Pennsylvania 19th-century baseball players 1840s births 1906 deaths San Francisco Knickerbockers players San Francisco Eagles players San Francisco (minor league baseball) players Oakland (minor league baseball) players