John James McCloskey (April 4, 1862 – November 17, 1940) 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 ...

player and manager. As a player, he appeared in

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

games between 1887 and 1905. He also served as a minor league

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

between 1888 and 1932. He is best remembered for managing in the major leagues, with the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as ...

during 1895–1896 and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

during 1906–1908, while compiling one of the worst managerial records (in terms of

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

) in major league history.

Biography

As a player, McCloskey was primarily an

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

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

; it is unknown if he batted and threw right-handed or left-handed. He played at least 17 seasons for

and

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

teams between 1887 and 1905; he did not play in the major leagues. Records from this era, especially in the minor leagues, are often incomplete. Within available records, his best offensive performance was in 1890 with the Houston Mudcats of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, when he batted .340 and had 18

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s in 38 games. He appeared in at least 440 professional games. As a manager, McCloskey was active for 36 seasons, between 1888 and 1932 with several gaps. Most of those years were spent managing minor league teams; he first managed in 1888 with the San Antonio Missionaries of the

Texas-Southern League The Texas-Southern League was a sports league of Minor League Baseball, minor league baseball teams that operated from 1895 to 1899, primarily in Texas. During the 1896 season, the league renamed itself as the Texas Association. History of the Tex ...

, and last managed in 1932 with the

Akron Tyrites The Akron Tyrites were a Minor league baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. They played in the Class B Central League from 1928 to 1929. The team returned to the league in 1932, but then moved to the city of Canton during the midseason and played u ...

Canton Terriers The Canton Terriers was the name of a minor league baseball team from Canton, Ohio that played between 1928 and 1942. The team was formed in 1928 as a member of the Central League and played there until 1932. In 1936 a new Terriers team was form ...

of the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

. Through 1905, he was often a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

. Records for the minor league teams he managed are largely incomplete. At the time of his death, the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

wrote that he managed 47 teams during his career. McCloskey first managed in the major leagues with the

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 ...

(NL) during 1895 and part of 1896. In 1895, the Colonels went 35–96, finishing last of 12 NL teams. McCloskey managed the Colonels for their first 19 games of the 1896 season, winning only twice; he was succeeded by

Bill McGunnigle William Henry McGunnigle (January 1, 1855 – March 9, 1899) was an American baseball manager for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, Pittsburgh Pirates and Louisville Colonels. He was nicknamed "Gunner" or "Mac" during his playing days. McGunnigle the pla ...

. McCloskey's second stint as a major league manager came with the

, also of the National League, for the 1906–1908 seasons. The Cardinals' best finished under McCloskey was seventh place, and his three St. Louis teams were a combined 153–304. Between the Colonels and the Cardinals, teams under McCloskey went a combined 190–417 for a

. McCloskey's managerial winning percentage is the second-worst in major league history, with only

Doc Prothro James Thompson "Doc" Prothro Sr. (July 16, 1893 – October 14, 1971) was an infielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Prothro was so nicknamed because he was a practicing dentist before signing his first professional baseball contrac ...

lower (138–320, ). Nicknamed "Honest John", McCloskey was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, in 1862; he died there in 1940 and was interred there. McCloskey was inducted to the

Texas League Hall of Fame The Texas League Hall of Fame is an American baseball hall of fame which honors Baseball player, players, Manager (baseball), managers, and executives of the Double-A (baseball), Double-A Texas League of Minor League Baseball for their accomplishme ...

in 2004.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCloskey, John 1862 births 1940 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Canada St. Louis Cardinals managers St. Joseph Reds players Austin Senators players Houston Mud Cats players Peoria Canaries players Sacramento Senators players Houston Mudcats players Montgomery Colts players Savannah Modocs players Norfolk Clam Eaters players Staunton Hayseeds players Newport News-Hampton Deckhands players Houston Buffaloes players Dallas Steers players Dallas Colts players Montgomery Senators players Great Falls Indians players Tacoma Tigers players Butte Miners players Boise Fruit Pickers players Vancouver Veterans players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) managers Baseball players from Louisville, Kentucky Sportspeople from Louisville, Kentucky San Francisco Giants players El Paso Mackmen players