Joseph Paul Visner (born ''Joseph Paul Vezina'': September 27, 1859 – June 17, 1945) was a 19th-century

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), ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

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 ...

born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. He played from 1885 to 1891, mostly in 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 ...

. Visner also has the distinction of being one of the few Native Americans to play professionally in the years prior to the arrival of the much more famous

Louis Sockalexis Louis Francis Sockalexis (October 24, 1871 – December 24, 1913), nicknamed the Deerfoot of the Diamond, was an Americans, American baseball player. Sockalexis played professional baseball in the National League for three seasons, spending h ...

. Visner had a brother named Lawrence Visner, and a sister-in-law by the name of Mary Visner.

Career

Visner began his Major League career with a brief appearance with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in , playing in four

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 ...

and getting three

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 thirteen

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. He didn't appear again until , when he played in 80 games, 53 at catcher for the first place

Brooklyn Bridegrooms 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 ...

. The team lost the "World Series" after the season to 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. ...

, six games to three. After a successful season in Brooklyn, Visner then jumped over to the

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...

and played all of his games as the starting

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 ...

for the

Pittsburgh Burghers The Pittsburgh Burghers were a baseball team in the Players' League, a short-lived Major League that existed only for the 1890 season. The team included a number of players who had jumped from the National League's Pittsburgh Alleghenys (now the ...

. He batted .267, and led the team in

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 ...

with 110, and hit 22

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 ...

. When the Players' League folded after just one season, Visner moved back to the

and played sparsely for the

Washington Statesmen Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

and the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

in .

Post-career

After his major league career, he played some minor league baseball, specifically for the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the Western League in 1894. Visner died in

Fosston, Minnesota Fosston is a city in Polk County, Minnesota, Polk County, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the Greater Grand Forks region. The population was 1,434 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Geography According to the Unit ...

, at the age of 85, and was interred at the Hansville Cemetery, buried under his birth name of Vezina.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Visner, Joe 1859 births 1945 deaths 19th-century baseball players Baseball players from Minneapolis Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball outfielders Washington Statesmen players Baltimore Orioles (AA) players St. Louis Browns (AA) players Brooklyn Bridegrooms players Pittsburgh Burghers players Rochester Flour Cities players Kansas City Cowboys (minor league) players Rochester Maroons players Hamilton Hams players Rochester Hop Bitters players Albany Senators players Omaha Omahogs players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Rockford Forest City players Des Moines Prohibitionists players Rockford Forest Citys players Rockford Reds players Burlington Hawkeyes players Burials in Minnesota

Career

Post-career

See also

References

External links