Michael Thomas Prendergast (December 15, 1888 – November 18, 1967) was a

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 ...

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), ...

. His nickname during his playing years was "Iron Mike". Mike was born in Arlington, Illinois to parents, Jeremiah Prendergast and Catherine Louise Corcoran, both natives of

County Waterford County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In 1914 and 1915, he pitched for the

Chicago Whales The Chicago Whales were a professional baseball team based in Chicago. They played in the Federal League, a short-lived "third Major League", in 1914 and 1915. They originally lacked a formal nickname, and were known simply as the "Chicago Feder ...

of the

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

. When the Federal League ceased operations in 1915 and merged with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, Mike joined the Cubs organization. He pitched with the Cubs in 1916 and 1917. After the 1917 season, he was traded to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

where he played in 1918 and 1919. After his retirement from baseball Mike and his wife relocated to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

and he worked at

Falstaff Brewery The Falstaff Brewing Corporation was a major American brewery located in St. Louis, Missouri. With roots in the 1838 Lemp Brewery of St. Louis, the company was renamed after the Shakespearean character Sir John Falstaff in 1903. Production peake ...

. In 1932, Mike won the Omaha Ping Pong championship. He died in Omaha on November 18, 1967 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Omaha. Mike's younger brother, Jeremiah "Jerry" Prendergast, nicknamed Jade, also played some minor league baseball.

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* 1888 births 1967 deaths Baseball players from Illinois Major League Baseball pitchers Chicago Whales players Chicago Cubs players Philadelphia Phillies players People from Bureau County, Illinois Minor league baseball managers Pekin Celestials players Galesburg Boosters players Bloomington Bloomers players Peoria Distillers players Quincy Infants players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1880s-stub