Martin Joseph Kavanagh (June 13, 1891 – July 28, 1960) 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. He played professional baseball for six years from 1913 to 1918, including five seasons 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), ...

with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1914–1916, 1918),

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

(1916–1917), 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 ha ...

(1918). He appeared in 370 major league games, 172 as a second baseman, 73 as a

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 ...

, 23 as 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 ...

, three as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, and two as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

. During his major league career, he compiled a .249

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and a .330

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

Early years

Kavanagh was born in

Harrison, New Jersey Harrison is a town in the western part of Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey, and is located from New York City. As of the 202 ...

, in 1891. His parents Charles and Mary Kavanagh immigrated from Ireland in 1886. At the time of the 1900 U.S. Census, his father worked as a day laborer.

Professional baseball

Kavanagh began his professional career in 1913 with the

York White Roses The York White Roses was the name of a minor league baseball team in the city of York, Pennsylvania, US, that existed from 1894–1969. History Early years The York White Roses began as members of the short-lived Keystone Association in 1884. ...

of the

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second leagu ...

. In 111 games with the White Roses, he had a .357

. After the season, the Detroit Tigers bought his contract, and he made his major league debut the following season on April 18, 1914. In July 1914, Kavanagh forgot to set his alarm and missed part of a game; backup infielder

Billy Purtell William Patrick Purtell (January 6, 1886 – March 17, 1962) was an American baseball infielder. He played professional baseball for 19 seasons between 1904 and 1928, including five seasons in Major League Baseball with the Chicago White Sox from ...

's poor play led to the Tigers losing the game as a result. Kavanagh finished the 1914 season with a .248 batting average and 16

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 128 games. In 1915, he had his best year in professional baseball. In 113 games, 44 at first base and 42 at second base, he had a .295 batting average and 13 triples. In 1916, Kavanagh struggled; his average fell to .141 in 58 games for the Tigers. On September 2, 1916, the Tigers released Kavanagh, and he joined the

. He played 19 games for the Indians in the final month of the 1916 season. In one of those games, on September 24, Kavanagh hit a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

, the first time in

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

history that had happened. He appeared in 14 games with the Indians in 1917 and 13 to start the 1918 season. On May 25, 1918, Kavanagh signed with the

. He spent the rest of the 1918 season with the Cardinals, the minor league

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

, and the Tigers, retiring from the game after the season ended. In 370 major league games, he had a .249 batting average and .330 on-base percentage.

Later years

Kavanagh was married to Elizabeth "Bessie" Fitzsimmons on December 2, 1916. They had two sons, Martin, Jr., born in 1918, and Eugene, born in 1921.Census entry for Martin Kavanagh, ball player. Census Place: Detroit Ward 8, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T625_808; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 240; Image: 784. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census atabase on-line After retiring from professional baseball, Kavanagh worked as an iron worker in the construction industry.Census entry for Martin Kavanagh and family. Census Place: Newark, Essex, New Jersey; Roll: 1336; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 0655; Image: 660.0; FHL microfilm: 2341071. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census atabase on-line He was also a manager in the Detroit Amateur Baseball Federation. He died in

Taylor, Michigan Taylor is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 63,409 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Taylor is the fifth most-populated city in Wayne County and the 17th List of municipa ...

, in 1960 at age 69.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kavanagh, Marty 1891 births 1960 deaths Major League Baseball second basemen Detroit Tigers players Cleveland Indians players St. Louis Cardinals players York White Roses players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players People from Harrison, New Jersey Baseball players from Hudson County, New Jersey