James William Keenan (February 10, 1856 – September 21, 1926) was a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 ...

. He played most of his major league career with the Cincinnati Red Stockings 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 ...

and later

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 ...

, after they became the

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 ...

. Keenan made his debut at age 17 with the

New Haven Elm Citys The Elm City baseball club, or New Haven Elm Citys in modern nomenclature, were a professional baseball team based in New Haven, Connecticut ("The Elm City"). They existed for one season, in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players ...

of the National Association, but did not establish himself in the majors until 1884, when he became the regular catcher 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 ...

. He stayed in Indianapolis to start the 1885 season, with the city's entry in the Western League, but the league quickly folded, and he was acquired by 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 ...

. Before he played a game for Detroit, however, Keenan jumped to the Red Stockings, where he split time at catcher with

Pop Snyder Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

. Over the next four seasons, he would split catching duties for the Red Stockings with

Kid Baldwin Clarence Geoghan "Kid" Baldwin ( – ) was an American Major League Baseball catcher. He played seven seasons at the Major League level. In addition to playing catcher, Baldwin also played outfield, third base, second base, and first base A ...

. In 1890 and 1891, he backed up

Jerry Harrington Jeremiah Peter Harrington (August 12, 1868 – April 16, 1913) was a professional baseball player whose career spanned six seasons, including four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Harrington played the majority of his games in the majors at ...

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keenan, Jim Major League Baseball catchers New Haven Elm Citys players Albany (minor league baseball) players Auburn (minor league baseball) players Buffalo Bisons (NL) players Pittsburgh Alleghenys players Indianapolis Hoosiers (AA) players Cincinnati Red Stockings (AA) players Cincinnati Reds players Hornellsville Hornells players Indianapolis Hoosiers (minor league) players Baseball players from New Haven, Connecticut 19th-century baseball players 1856 births 1926 deaths