John Edward "Nap" Shea (May 23, 1874 – July 8, 1968), nicknamed "Napoleon", was a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

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), ...

. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1902. He stood at 5' 5", weighed 155 lbs., and batted and threw right-handed."Nap Shea Statistics and History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-12-18.

Career

Shea was born in Ware, Massachusetts. He started his professional baseball career in 1894 and played for the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

's Brockton Shoemakers for four seasons. In 1896, he batted a career-high .344 and slugged .452."Nap Shea Minor League Statistics & History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-12-18. Shea then played in the

New York State League The New York State League was an independent baseball league that played six seasons between 2007 and 2012 in New York State and the New York City metro area. Over 500 NYSL players have been signed by professional teams. Players from forty-eight ...

from 1899 to 1902. He hit .323 in 1901. Early in the following season, he was sidelined by

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a ru ...

but then recovered and hit .300 for the Ilion Typewriters. Shea was acquired by the Philadelphia Phillies and played three games for them in September. In 10 plate appearances, he went 1 for 8 with a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

and a hit by pitch. The next season, he caught for the Eastern League's Newark Sailors and stayed on that team for a few years. He batted under .200 during most of his time at Newark, but the '' Sporting Life'' wrote that he was "one of the best backstops" in the league. Shea was sold to the Syracuse Stars in March 1908,"Syracuse Buys Nap Shea"
''The Montreal Gazette'', March 20, 1908, p. 5. and he played one season there before retiring from professional baseball. He died in 1968 in

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Bloomfield Hills is a small city (5.04 sq. miles) in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is approximately northwest of Downtown Detroit. Except a small southern border with the city of Bir ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shea, Nap 1874 births 1968 deaths Major League Baseball catchers Philadelphia Phillies players Brockton Shoemakers players Springfield Ponies players Springfield Maroons players Rome Romans players Ilion Typewriters players Newark Sailors players Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Baseball players from Massachusetts