Michael Joseph Hornung (June 12, 1857 – October 30, 1931) was an American

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 and one of the greatest fielders of the 19th century. Michael Joseph Hornung was born in

Carthage, New York Carthage is a village in the town of Wilna in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 3,747 at the 2010 census. The village is named after the historic city of Carthage in what is now Tunisia. The village of Carthage is alo ...

in 1857. Prior to starting his career in

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), ...

in 1879 with the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

, Hornung played for the 1877 and 1878

London Tecumsehs The historic London Tecumsehs were a professional men's baseball team in London, Ontario, Canada, that were first formed in 1868 — a merger of the Forest City Base Ball Club and the London Base Ball Club — which, according to George Railton's ...

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, Canada, winning the International Association title in 1877. Hornung ended his major league baseball career in 1890 with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

, but he spent most of his career (1881–1888) with the Boston Red Caps/Beaneaters. He also spent one season (1889) in the now-defunct

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 ...

. After umpiring for a few seasons in the minor leagues he took on the roll of player / manager for the Batavia Giants franchise on May 25, 1897, making his playing debut on June 14 at the age of 40, he went hitless. He was remarkable for his nearly flawless play in left field and also known for his peculiar habit of shouting "ubbo ubbo" whenever he got a hit or made a good fielding play. Due to this peculiarity, "Ubbo Ubbo" became Hornung's nickname. In addition to being an exceptional fielder, Hornung was also a fast baserunner, stealing 39 bases in his final season, and was a fair hitter, batting .302 in 1882. He led all National League outfielders in fielding percentage in 1881, 1882, 1883 and 1886, fielding as high as .948, a very high mark for a time in which most players (including Hornung), didn't wear gloves in the field. Hornung died in 1931 in Howard Beach, New York.

References

*
Joe Hornung Statistics
' at Baseball-Reference.com *''Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia''
Article about Hornung:
"Homegrown Baseball Hero", ''Watertown Daily Times'', June 27, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hornung, Joe 1857 births 1931 deaths New York Giants (NL) players 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball outfielders Baseball players from New York (state) Buffalo Bisons (NL) players Boston Red Caps players Boston Beaneaters players Baltimore Orioles (NL) players London Tecumseh players Buffalo (minor league baseball) players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Providence Grays (minor league) players Providence Clamdiggers (baseball) players Worcester (minor league baseball) players Atlanta Crackers players Batavia Giants players Geneva Alhambras players People from Carthage, New York Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn

See also

References