Thomas F. Kinslow (January 12, 1866 – February 22, 1901) was a 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 who played

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 ...

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) from 1886 until 1898. He played for eight teams in his ten-season career. Four of those seasons were with

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, Californi ...

of 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 ...

(NL). During his playing days, his height was listed at , his weight as , he batted and threw right-handed, and had blonde hair. He was a member of the

Washington Light Infantry The Washington Light Infantry is a military and social organization located in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1807, it is one of the oldest of these militia groups still active in the United States. Following the American Revolutionary ...

, a local Washington, D.C.

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, and played in many of their amateur baseball games throughout his life. When not playing, he tended to his

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

. Noted for being a genial, friendly individual, he was quick to make friends, and was a fan-favorite in his hometown of Washington, D.C. Kinslow was a heavy drinker however, which caused him to miss games and team movements on occasion. Late into his career, these alcohol issues were much less tolerated, eventually hastening his exit from the game. He died at the age of 35, after a year-long battle with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

Early life

Thomas Kinslow was born on January 12, 1866 in Washington, D.C.; his father Michael worked as a laborer and an ice dealer, later working in the

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

business. He began playing amateur baseball in the city's first ward on a team known as the "Quicks", as well as a team named the Falcons. He later became a member of the

, Company C, a local

, and played as their catcher against the

5th Maryland Regiment The 5th Maryland Regiment is a designation which has been held by several units over the years, not all of which necessarily share the same lineage and honors. Although the first unit to carry the "5th Maryland" designation was organized in 1776 ...

on June 29, 1885; a game won by Washington 11–7.

Baseball career

Early career

Kinslow made his MLB debut with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

of the NL on June 4, 1886 as their starting catcher. He injured his finger in the third inning trying to catch a bad pitch thrown by

Bob Barr Robert Laurence Barr Jr. (born November 5, 1948) is an American attorney and politician. He served as a federal prosecutor and as a United States House of Representatives, Congressman. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Re ...

, and had to leave the game. On June 15, he was again injured by a Barr pitch, and forced to leave the game with a dislocated finger. He played in three games for the Nationals in 1886, collecting two

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

in eight

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s. In 1887, he was signed by the Peanut Eaters of the

Pennsylvania State Association The Pennsylvania State Association was a class D level league of minor league baseball that existed from 1934 until 1942. The league franchised were entirely based in Western Pennsylvania. History The Pennsylvania State Association was compose ...

, and played in 36 games before being sold to the

Detroit Wolverines The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant (and winning the pre ...

of the NL, along with

Ed Beatin Ebenezer Ambrose "Ed" Beatin (August 10, 1866 – May 9, 1925) was an American baseball player. He played five seasons in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for the Detroit Wolverines from 1887 to 1888 and the Cleveland Spiders from 1 ...

for $1,000 on July 27. Soon, the deal was put on hold by the NL, as the

Cincinnati Red Stockings The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) 1867– ...

of 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 ...

(AA) also claimed they had a deal in place for these players. On September 6, an

arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...

board for the NL and AA leagues convened to render their findings. They found that Detroit's contract with the players was dated on July 20, which superseded Cincinnati's contract that was signed on July 27, and awarded Detroit the players. Detroit then sold their contracts with the players to the

London Tecumsehs The historic London Tecumsehs were a professional men's baseball team in London, Ontario, Canada, that were first formed in 1868 — a merger of the Forest City Base Ball Club and the London Base Ball Club — which, according to George Railton's ...

of the International Association. Though he did not play for London in 1887, he did play in two games for the

New York Metropolitans The Metropolitan Club (New York Metropolitans or the Mets) was a 19th-century professional baseball team that played in New York City from 1880 to 1887. (The ''New York Metropolitan Baseball Club'' was the name chosen in 1961 for the New York ...

of the AA, going hitless in eight at bats.

Brooklyn

Kinslow played the next two seasons for the Tecumsehs, and had 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 .200 in 1888, but improved it to .343 in 1889. In 1890, a new league was created, the

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...

(PL), and he signed with Ward's Wonders of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. During the season, he had a batting average of .264, and caught 64 games. On June 28, he hit the first

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

of his career in a game against

Henry Gruber Henry John Gruber (December 14, 1863 – September 26, 1932) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played from 1885 through 1895. A right-hander, he played five years in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Wolverines (1887–88) a ...

and the

Cleveland Infants The Cleveland Infants were a one-year baseball team in the Players' League, a short-lived Major League that existed only for the 1890 season. Owned by Al Johnson, the Infants finished , their lone season, with 55 wins and 75 losses. Their home g ...

. Later, on July 11, he hit two home runs in the same game off of

George Keefe George Washington Keefe (January 7, 1867 – August 24, 1935) was an American professional baseball left-handed starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals, Buffalo Bisons, and Washington Statesmen ...

of 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 Fiel ...

, the only time Kinslow would achieve this feat. The PL folded following the 1890 season, and Kinslow stayed in Brooklyn by signing with the

of the NL. He followed

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, ...

, who was hired as team's new

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 o ...

. Shortly afterwards, Kinslow's services were kept exclusive as the team listed him among those players covered under the

reserve clause The reserve clause, in North American professional sports, was part of a player contract which stated that the rights to players were retained by the team upon the contract's expiration. Players under these contracts were not free to enter into ano ...

. During the game on July 8, Kinslow was benched by Ward for what was described as insubordination. Kinslow played in 61 games for Brooklyn in 1891, being platooned primarily at catcher with

Con Daily Cornelius F. Daily (September 11, 1864 – June 14, 1928) was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Providence Grays, Boston Beaneaters, Indianapolis Hoosiers, Brooklyn Ward's Wonders, Brookl ...

, and had a .237 batting average. In 1892, he continued to platoon with Daily and played in 66 games. He improved his batting average to .305, and hit two home runs. With a third catcher, Tom Daly, no longer with the team in 1893, Kinslow's playing time increased slightly to 78 games. His batting average dropped to .244, but he tied his career-high with four home runs. Although he was a popular player during his time in Brooklyn, Kinslow had caused trouble with the team at some point in the season, and had been restricted from playing in home games by owner Charles Byrne. Upon signing his contract with Brooklyn in 1894, Kinslow wrote a letter to the owner apologizing for his conduct during the previous season, and vowed to improve significantly going forward. His batting average improved to .305 during the 1894 season while playing in 62 games, sharing time with Daily once again.

Late career

On January 26, 1895, Kinslow was traded by Brooklyn to 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 ...

for

Ad Gumbert Addison Courtney Gumbert (October 10, 1867 – April 23, 1925) was a pitcher for Major League Baseball in the 19th century. His brother Billy Gumbert and great nephew Harry Gumbert were also Major League Baseball players. Early life Addison Gumb ...

. The Red Stockings quickly disputed the deal however, claiming that they had an earlier agreement with Pittsburgh's manager

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 ...

that would have brought them Gumbert and

Buck Weaver George Daniel "Buck" Weaver (August 18, 1890 – January 31, 1956) was an American shortstop and third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox. Weaver played for the 1917 World Series champion White Sox, then w ...

in exchange for Billy Merritt. Despite the dispute, the Brooklyn deal went forward, and Kinslow joined the Pirates. With the catching duties being split between Merritt and

Joe Sugden Joseph "Joe" Sugden is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Frazer Hines. He first appeared on-screen during the soap's first episode broadcast 16 October 1972 and remained in the programme until ...

, there was little playing time allotted for Kinslow; Kinslow's behavior had become a problem for Mack and the Pirates. Once, he was fined for missing a game due to drinking, and in late May, he was suspended for failing to show up for a game in Washington, D.C. On June 22, he failed to be ready for a road series, and was released from the team for disorderly conduct. Kinslow expressed sorrow and shock over getting released, claiming that while he drank too much, Brooklyn would issue fines for his behavior instead. In 19 games played for Pittsburgh, he had a .226 batting average, Though he had received interest from Cincinnati and the Washington Senators, he claimed that he wanted to take the remainder the year off to be ready for the next season. During the off-season, Kinslow tended to the

he owned in Washington, D.C., mainly passing time opening oysters and

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two she ...

s, and playing games for the Washington Light Infantry. On May 21, it was reported that he had agreed to play for the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as ...

of the NL. In eight games for the Colonels, Kinslow collected seven hits in 25 at bats for a .280 batting average. After playing very little in 1896, and not at all in 1897, he signed with the Senators for the 1898 season. He admitted that his weight had increased to 225 lbs during the time off from the game, but would quickly drop his weight to 160 once he began playing. He appeared in three games for Washington until he was sold to 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 ...

on August 18. He played in an additional 14 games for St. Louis, and was released from the team at the conclusion of the season. In his 380 career games played, he had a .266 batting average, 12 home runs, and 222

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

Personal life

Kinslow was known to have a genial, sunny disposition, and was quick to make friends. In the 1900 United States Census, he was living with his father and working as an oyster dealer. He is listed as being married for ten years, but his wife was not living in the same home. He died in his hometown of Washington, D.C. after a year-long battle with

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

(tuberculosis), and is interred at

Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American "cemetery of national m ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinslow, Tom 1866 births 1901 deaths Major League Baseball catchers 19th-century baseball players Baseball players from Washington, D.C. Brooklyn Grooms players Brooklyn Ward's Wonders players Louisville Colonels players New York Metropolitans players Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Browns (NL) players Washington Nationals (1886–1889) players Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Allentown Peanut Eaters players London Tecumsehs (baseball) players Burials at the Congressional Cemetery 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Washington, D.C.