Stephen Francis O'Neill (July 6, 1891 – January 26, 1962) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. 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 a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

, most notably with the

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 ...

. As a manager, he led 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 ...

to the World Series championship,

Early life

O'Neill was born in Minooka, Pennsylvania (now a part of

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

), to

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

immigrants from

Maum An Mám (anglicized as Maum, or sometimes Maam) is a small village and its surrounding lands in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. Name An Mám is Irish for "the pass" and as this is a Gaeltacht (principally Irish-speaking) area, the area's na ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, Michael "Squire" O'Neill and Mary ( Joyce) O'Neill. He was one of four brothers who escaped a life in the coal mines by playing in the major leagues.Kashatus (2002), pg. 14. Other notable members of the O'Neill family were

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

, a catcher in 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 ...

(1902–1906);

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and docume ...

, a right-handed pitcher in the NL (1901–1904, 1907); and

Jim Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

, an infielder with the

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 ...

Washington Senators (1920, 1923). Baseball historian William C. Kashatus noted that Michael and Jack "would become the first brother battery in major league history". The O'Neill brothers "were known to exchange their signals in

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

in order to fool the opposing coaches". Later, two of Steve O'Neill's daughters married professional baseball players, one of whom was

Skeeter Webb James Laverne "Skeeter" Webb (November 4, 1909 – July 8, 1986) was an American professional baseball infielder in Major League Baseball from 1932 to 1949. He played 12 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, ...

, who played under O'Neill in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

in 1939 and again from 1945–1947, when O'Neill piloted the Tigers.

Baseball career

O'Neill first played professional baseball in 1910 with the Elmira Colonels, managed by his brother Mike as a backup catcher. An injury opened the door to him getting playing time that saw him catch well enough to attract attention. He was signed by 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 ...

, led by

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

. He played for Worcester in the New England League for 1911 before he was sent to the

Cleveland Naps 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 ...

on August 20 in a sale by Mack at the request of Harry Davis (a longtime player for Mack), who had signed on to serve as player-manager for the 1912 season. Steve would end up having the most successful playing career of the O'Neill brothers, serving as a catcher for 17 years in the American League.Kashatus (2002), pp. 101–103. He made his major league debut as a September call-up on the 18th in 1911 for the Naps against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. He went 1-for-4 while stealing a base. He would spend the next twelve years with the team. He appeared in eight other games, collecting four total hits. He gradually played more for Cleveland in the next three seasons, going from 69 to 80 to 87 games; in 1913, while batting .295 in eighty games, he received votes enough to finish 24th in MVP voting. He then played a majority of a season for the first time in 1915, playing in 121 games while batting .236 with 91 hits and 34 RBIs; he hit two home runs that season, the first of just thirteen in his career. Aside from 1917, when he batted .184, he would bat above .230 for the rest of his career. O'Neill collected his first hundred hit season in 1919, doing so by collecting 115 hits in 125 games while driving in 47 runs; he batted .289 while also collecting 35 doubles with 48 walks and 21 strikeouts. The following year, he had his finest and longest season. He played 149 games and batted .321 with 55 RBIs and career highs in hits (157), doubles (39), and home runs (three). His final home run of that season came in the moment of tragedy. On August 16, he hit a home run off

Carl Mays Carl William Mays (November 12, 1891 – April 4, 1971) was an American baseball pitcher who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1929. During his career, he won over 200 games, 27 in 1921 alone, and was a member of four Wor ...

of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. That same night, as he drove in another run to win the game for Cleveland 4-3, a Mays fastball hit

Ray Chapman Raymond Johnson Chapman (January 15, 1891 – August 17, 1920) was an American baseball player. He spent his entire career as a shortstop for the Cleveland Indians. Chapman was hit in the head by a pitch thrown by pitcher Carl Mays and died ...

in the head that saw him die that night; O'Neill and the rest of the team saw his body before the funeral and he fainted after seeing him in the casket. That season saw Cleveland win the American League pennant for the first time ever. In the 1920 World Series, O'Neill batted .333 by going 7-for-21 while driving in two runs (both in Game 1, which Cleveland won 3-0) as they beat the Brooklyn Robins in seven games.Kashatus (2002), p. 101. He was dealt by Cleveland in a seven-player deal that saw them trade Dan Boone, Joe Connolly,

Bill Wambsganss William Adolf Wambsganss (March 19, 1894 – December 8, 1985) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1914 through 1926, Wambsganss played for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Athletics. He is best remembered ...

, and O'Neill to the

for

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...

, Chick Fewster and

Roxy Walters Alfred John Walters (November 5, 1892 – June 3, 1956) born in San Francisco, California, was a catcher in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees (1915–18), Boston Red Sox (1919–23) and Cleveland Indians (1924–25). Biography He was ...

for the 1924 season. He batted .238 in 106 games while having 73 hits with 38 RBIs. He was put on waivers and picked up by the

on December 15, 1924. In 1925, he played in just 35 games and batted .286 with 26 hits and 10 RBIs before being released. He spent the next two years in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

before returning to the majors to play with the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

in 1927, where he played 84 combined games in two seasons; his final highlight came in that season: On May 17, facing

Howard Ehmke Howard John Ehmke (April 24, 1894 – March 17, 1959) was an American baseball pitcher. He played professional baseball for 16 years from 1914 to 1930, including 15 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Buffalo Blues (1915), Detroit Tigers (19 ...

, he hit a shot to left field for his thirteenth and final home run of his career. During his last season in 1928, while riding a cab in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, he was hit by a truck that nearly killed him. His final game came on September 14. Facing the

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 went 0-for-3. O'Neill compiled a

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 ...

of .263 with 1,259 hits, thirteen home runs and 537 runs batted in (RBI) in 1,590 games.

Managerial career

When his playing career ended, O'Neill turned to managing in the minors. He started by managing the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

of the International League from 1929 to 1931, serving as player-manager. He then managed the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

from 1932 to 1934. He soon gained a reputation for cultivating talented young players, some of whom went on to become Hall of Famers.Kashatus (2002), p. 103. As a big league manager with four teams—the Indians (1935–1937), Tigers (1943–1948), Red Sox (1950–51) and

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 ...

(1952–1954)—O'Neill never had a losing record. His Tigers won the 1945 World Series (when they defeated 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 ...

in the Cubs' last Fall Classic appearance until

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

) and O'Neill was known for turning around under-performing teams, often in mid-season. He was hired by Cleveland manager

Walter Johnson Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-ha ...

in 1935 as a pitching coach due to his success with Toledo. However, O'Neill would become manager of the team after Johnson was fired when the team was 46-48. O'Neil led them to 36 wins in the remaining sixty games of the year to result in a 82—71 overall record (with three ties). The 1935 team finished third, but his next two teams finished fifth and fourth while racking up eighty wins before he was let go. He returned to minor league managing with the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

in 1938, where he stayed until 1940 to serve as coach with the

for a year. He then moved over to Detroit's minor league team in the

Beaumont Exporters The Beaumont Exporters was the predominant name of a minor league baseball team located in Beaumont, Texas that played between 1920 and 1957 in the Texas League and the Big State League. Beaumont rejoined the Class AA Texas League (1983-1986) and ...

for the 1942 season. He was then hired for 1944 by the Tigers as manager to replace

Del Baker Delmer David Baker (May 3, 1892 – September 11, 1973) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. During his time as a player, he spent three years (1914–1916) in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a backup catcher for the ...

. While the Tigers only saw a five-game improvement in wins with O'Neill's first team, it was their first winning season since 1940. The next year, they went 88—66 on the strength of

Hal Newhouser Harold Newhouser (May 20, 1921 – November 10, 1998), nicknamed "Prince Hal," was an American professional baseball player. In Major League Baseball (MLB), he pitched 17 seasons on the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians, from 1939 through 19 ...

, who won MVP as a pitcher. The Tigers led the American League as late as September 26 before playing their final series against the Washington Senators with the

close. The Tigers, having to play four games in three days, would split the series while St. Louis edged them out on the final day of the season to win the pennant. The next year, the Tigers would be involved in another pennant race that saw them come out on top; they took the lead for the pennant on June 27 for good, finishing 1.5 games ahead of Washington to clinch the pennant while Newhouser won the pitching Triple Crown and another MVP. In the 1945 World Series, facing

Charlie Grimm Charles John Grimm (August 28, 1898 – November 15, 1983), nicknamed "Jolly Cholly", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman, most notably for the Chicago Cubs; he was als ...

and the 98-win

, the Tigers ended up losing two of the three games in Detroit before the series shifted to Chicago for Game 4. They won the next two games to take a 3—2 series lead before a twelve-inning thriller in Game 6 saw the series tied. In Game 7, the Tigers would rely on Newhouser (who started Game 1 and 5 with a win in the latter) to carry them through with run support as they won 9-3 to win their first world title since 1940. The 1946 team finished second with 92 wins as the

trounced the League with over 100 wins, and the next year saw them win 85 games but still finish second. A fifth place finish in 1948 saw him let go by the Tigers in favor of

Red Rolfe Robert Abial "Red" Rolfe (October 17, 1908 – July 8, 1969) was an American third baseman, manager and front-office executive in Major League Baseball. A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Rolfe also was an Ivy Leaguer: a graduate, then long- ...

. O'Neill served as a scout for the 1949 Red Sox before being hired to take over as third-base coach for the

to replace

Kiki Cuyler Hazen Shirley Cuyler (; August 30, 1898 – February 11, 1950), nicknamed Kiki, was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Brooklyn Dodg ...

. However, he was asked midway through the season to take over for

Joe McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most vis ...

as manager after general manager

Joe Cronin Joseph Edward Cronin (October 12, 1906 – September 7, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, manager and executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop, most notably as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Cronin spe ...

asked him to resign; at the time the team was 31–28, but O'Neill led them to 63 wins in 95 games for an overall finish of 94-60. The Red Sox became the first post-World War II team to score over 1,000 runs in a season while also becoming the last (as of ) to record a batting average over .300. As late as September 18, they were just a game behind for the league pennant, but a late-season sludge saw them lost seven of their last twelve games, which included three double-headers (with two wins out of six). The 1951 season proved to be an indicator of diminishing returns, as it would be the first of sixteen straight seasons where Boston did not win ninety games. They finished with a record of 87–67 for third place, eleven games behind the Yankees once again; O'Neill was replaced by Lou Boudreau. At the time that O'Neill had been let go from the Red Sox, he had won 150 games and lost 99, and combined with his 199–168 record with Cleveland and 509–414 mark with Detroit, he had a managerial record of 858–681. He took over for the Philadelphia Phillies midway through the 1952 season.

Eddie Sawyer Edwin Milby Sawyer (September 10, 1910 – September 22, 1997) was an American manager and scout in Major League Baseball. As a manager, he led the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies — the "Whiz Kids", as the youthful club was known — to the second ...

had led the 1950 team (dubbed the " Whiz Kids" by the press) to the

pennant, owing to the generally youthful status of the players (such as future Hall of Famer

Richie Ashburn Don Richard Ashburn (March 19, 1927 – September 9, 1997), also known by the nicknames, "Putt-Putt", "The Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" (due to his light-blond hair), was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball. (Some sources give his ...

). However, they had dovetailed from first to fifth the previous year, and a 28-35 record on June 27 meant that Sawyer was let go for O'Neill. He proceeded to win 59 out of the next 91 games, gradually moving them to a fourth-place finish. He won 83 games the next season (with two ties), which ended with his 1,000th win at the end of the season while finishing in a tie for third place with the

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 ...

(22 games back of the pennant winners). However, he did not finish the next season. With a record of 40–37, he was fired on July 15 for Terry Moore (Moore would win just 35 games the rest of the way).

Legacy

His career winning percentage over fourteen seasons was a stalwart .559 (1,040 victories with 821 losses and eighteen ties). O'Neill is one of 23 managers with a a winning percentage of .540 while also winning 1,000 games and he is also one of twelve managers to win 1,000 games without having also lost 1,000 games. Legendary players who benefited from O'Neill's guidance included Lou Boudreau, Bob Feller,

, and Robin Roberts. O'Neill was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame. He was also an inaugural member of the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame.

Personal life

O'Neill died at age 70 in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

, and is interred in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Minooka."Ex-Manager Steve O'Neill Succumbs," Standard-Speaker, Hazleton, PA, January 27, 1962.

Managerial record

Notes

References

* Kashatus, William C. (2002). ''Diamonds in the Coalfields: 21 Remarkable Baseball Players, Managers, and Umpires from Northeast Pennsylvania''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. .

Sources

Steve O'Neill
- Baseballbiography.com
Baseball Almanac

External links

Steve O’Neill
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)

at The Deadball Era * : {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Steve 20th-century Irish people 1891 births 1962 deaths American people of Irish descent Baseball managers Baseball coaches from Pennsylvania Baseball players from Pennsylvania Beaumont Exporters players Boston Red Sox coaches Boston Red Sox players Boston Red Sox managers Boston Red Sox scouts Buffalo Bisons (minor league) managers Cleveland Indians coaches Cleveland Indians managers Cleveland Indians players Cleveland Naps players Detroit Tigers coaches Detroit Tigers managers Elmira Colonels players Major League Baseball catchers New York Yankees players Philadelphia Phillies managers Reading Keystones players St. Louis Browns players Sportspeople from Scranton, Pennsylvania Toledo Mud Hens managers Toledo Mud Hens players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) managers Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Worcester Busters players World Series-winning managers