John Stewart "Pop" Corkhill (April 11, 1858 – April 4, 1921) was an American professional

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 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), ...

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 ...

from to . Corkhill excelled as a defensive player, winning five fielding titles in his career.

Biography

Corkhill was born in

Parkesburg, Pennsylvania Parkesburg is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was counted as 3,866 at the 2020 census. The ZIP code is 19365. History Parkesburg was first known as the Fountain Inn, a tavern built ca. 1734. The inn ceas ...

on April 11, 1858. He began his Major League career 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 ...

with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

in 1883. He served as the Reds'

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

for four seasons, leading American Association outfielders in fielding twice. In 1887, he moved to center field and played there regularly for two seasons, winning two more fielding titles. As a batter, Corkhill had a knack for driving in

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

s, finishing 2nd in the league in RBI in 1886. He also pitched on multiple occasions, serving as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

at a time when relievers were not commonplace. Corkhill finished the 1888 season with the

Brooklyn Bridegrooms The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Califor ...

after the team purchased his contract from Cincinnati. He played two seasons as Brooklyn's center fielder, and earned two league championships with the club, an AA championship in 1889 and a

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 ...

championship in 1890 after the club switched leagues. Corkhill returned to the American Association in 1891 and began the year with the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

. He left the team in mid-season and returned to the NL to finish the year, playing a single game with the Reds before joining 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 ...

. He played for parts of two seasons with the Pirates, before retiring after being hit in the head by a pitch from Ed Crane. Corkhill died after an operation in

Pennsauken, New Jersey Pennsauken Township is a township in Camden County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's population was 37,074, reflecting an increase of 1,189 (+3.3%) from the 35,885 count ...

on April 4, 1921.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corkhill, Pop 1858 births 1921 deaths Major League Baseball right fielders Major League Baseball center fielders Baseball players from Pennsylvania Cincinnati Reds players Brooklyn Bridegrooms players Philadelphia Athletics (AA 1891) players Pittsburgh Pirates players Philadelphia Phillies (minor league) players