James Joseph Callahan (March 18, 1874 – October 4, 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 ...

and

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

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), ...

(MLB) for 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 ...

, Chicago Colts/Orphans, and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. He also managed the White Sox, as well as the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. In 1902, he pitched the first

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

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. Though best known today by his childhood nickname "Nixey", in reality, he was seldom ever referred to by that name in contemporary sources during his playing days, as he instead preferred to go by Jimmy (or James) Callahan.

Early life

Callahan was born in

Fitchburg, Massachusetts Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private e ...

on March 18, 1874. He played amateur baseball throughout Massachusetts.

Professional baseball

As a player

Callahan made his debut for the 1894 Philadelphia Phillies, 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 ...

team run by Arthur Irwin. Callahan pitched in nine games that year, giving up more than an earned run per inning, so he was sent to the minor leagues for the 1895 season. He came back up to the major leagues in 1897 with the Chicago Cubs, where he stayed for four seasons. On September 20, 1902, Callahan pitched the first

history. Remarkably, only two years earlier, in the other extreme of his career, he had given up 48 hits in two consecutive starts in 1900, yielding 23 on September 11 and 25 in the game before. Callahan is also the only pitcher to have collected five hits in a game three times: June 29, 1897; May 18, 1902; and May 18, 1903. Callahan finished his major league career with 901 hits and 99 wins. Since then, no player has matched both these numbers, although

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

came close. Three nineteenth-century pitcher/infielders beat these numbers:

John Montgomery Ward John Montgomery Ward (March 3, 1860 – March 4, 1925), known as Monte Ward, was an American Major League Baseball pitcher, shortstop, second baseman, third baseman, manager, executive, union organizer, owner and author. Ward, of English descent ...

Kid Gleason William Jethro "Kid" Gleason (October 26, 1866 – January 2, 1933) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager. Gleason managed the Chicago White Sox from 1919 through 1923. His first season as a big league manager was notabl ...

and Dave Foutz. File:Nixey Callahan baseball card.jpg, 1912 American Tobacco Company baseball card File:Nixey Callahan 1914 Coke ad.png, Coca-Cola ad from 1914 with J.J. Callahan

As a manager

Callahan managed the

on two separate occasions and also managed the

. * Callahan was "asked" to step down as manager, he remained as a player only.

As an owner

Callahan took a five-year break from playing in the American League to run his own semi-pro team, "Callahan's Logan Squares". He said that he did this for financial reasons, but he returned when his team's attendances fell.

Later life

Callahan died at age 60 in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

on October 4, 1934.Brian McKenna - Clark Griffith: Baseball's Statesman 2010- Page 68 0557472954 "A forever-disputed milestone occurred on June 18 when Cap Anson notched his 3,000th hit.136 Chicago set the still-standing record for runs scored in a game in support of pitcher Jimmy Callahan, nicknamed Nixey, on June 29. On thirty hits, the Colts tallied 36 runs against only seven for Louisville. Callahan first drew interest as a pitcher on a Massachusetts textile team and, later, in semi-pro ball. In 1895, he led the Eastern League with a 30-9 record for Springfield."

References

External links

Nixie Callahan
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Callahan, Nixey 1874 births 1934 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Massachusetts Philadelphia Phillies players Chicago Colts players Chicago Orphans players Chicago White Sox players Chicago White Sox managers Pittsburgh Pirates managers 19th-century baseball players Minor league baseball managers Sportspeople from Fitchburg, Massachusetts Philadelphia Colts players Springfield Maroons players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball player-managers