George Washington McGinnis ( – May 18, 1934) was an American

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

whose

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), ...

career spanned from 1882 to 1887. Nicknamed "Jumbo" for his heavy, robust frame, McGinnis is considered the first

ace An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...

of the storied franchise that would later become known as the

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 ...

Birthdate

McGinnis's actual birthdate is unknown and has been the subject of some debate and speculation by baseball historians. Records are inconsistent, and different sources list it as February 22, 1854, sometime in 1856, 1858 (according to his gravestone), or as late as February 22, 1864 (found on his death certificate)— although the latter date is unlikely, since it would mean that he made his pitching debut 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 ...

at the age of 18.

Career

McGinnis started his professional baseball career with the

St. Louis Brown Stockings The St. Louis Brown Stockings were a professional baseball club based in St. Louis, Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most ...

(or Browns) of the American Association and was one of their top pitchers. From 1882 to 1884, he pitched over 300 innings and won over 20 games each year. After the team acquired

Bob Caruthers Robert Lee Caruthers (January 5, 1864 – August 5, 1911), nicknamed "Parisian Bob", was an American right-handed pitcher and right fielder in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the St. Louis Browns and Brooklyn Bridegrooms. The star p ...

and

Dave Foutz David Luther Foutz (September 7, 1856 – March 5, 1897) was a Major League Baseball player for 13 seasons. He played multiple positions, including pitcher, from to , compiling a 147–66 career record, as well as first base and outfield. From ...

, however, McGinnis' role on the Browns' pitching staff was greatly reduced. He later played for 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 ...

and

Cincinnati Red Stockings The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) 1867– ...

. After his retirement, he also occasionally worked as an

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

in the Major Leagues. His achievements as a pitcher include leading the circuit in shutouts (with 6) in 1883. Outside of baseball, McGinnis worked as a

glassblower Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble (or parison) with the aid of a blowpipe (or blow tube). A person who blows glass is called a ''glassblower'', ''glassmith'', or ''gaffer''. A '' lampworke ...

. He died of

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

in 1934.

References

External links

1934 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers St. Louis Brown Stockings (AA) players St. Louis Browns (AA) players Baltimore Orioles (AA) players Cincinnati Red Stockings (AA) players Milwaukee Cream Citys players Evansville Hoosiers players Baseball players from Missouri Burials at Calvary Cemetery (St. Louis) {{US-baseball-pitcher-1850s-stub

Birthdate

Career

See also

References

External links