Thomas H. Cahill (October 1868 – December 25, 1894) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player who played from 1888 to 1894. He played one season 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), ...

and had a career

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 .253 with 109 hits, 17 doubles, 7 triples, 3 home runs, 44

RBIs 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 ...

, and 38 stolen bases. He was of Irish descent.

Early life

Cahill was born in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

, in October, 1868. His father, also named Thomas Cahill, was born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and worked as a

laborer A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...

. Cahill's mother was also born in Ireland. Cahill attended both the College of the Holy Cross, and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. At the University of Pennsylvania, Cahill studied

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

while playing professional baseball. He left the

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine The Perelman School of Medicine, commonly known as Penn Med, is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1765, the Perelman School of Medicine is the oldest medi ...

in 1891 to play professional baseball full-time, but planned on returning to his studies and eventually becoming a

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

Professional career

Early career

In 1888, Cahill began his professional career at the age of 19 with the Worcester Grays of 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 ...

. The next season, Cahill played with the

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, baseball club of the

Atlantic Association The Atlantic Association was a minor league baseball organization that operated between 1889 and 1890 and again in 1908 in the Northeastern United States. History First Demise In each of the two seasons 4 or more teams failed to finish the season a ...

. Cahill was described by the ''Meriden Daily Republican'' as "a popular

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 ...

," and the New Haven club resigned Cahill for the 1890 season.

Louisville Colonels

Cahill began to play with the Major League Baseball franchise

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 th ...

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 ...

in 1891, a year after they won the American Association pennant. On the season, Cahill played multiple positions including catcher (55 games),

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

(49 games),

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

(12 games), second base (6 games), and

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

(2 games). In total, Cahill committed 69 errors in 342

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

, giving him a fielding percentage of .930. On the offensive side, Cahill batted .253 with 68 runs, 17 doubles, 7 triples, 3 home runs, 44 RBIs, 38 stolen bases, and 41 bases on balls. Among teammates, Cahill lead the Colonels in stolen bases, and stolen bases; was second in doubles; and was fourth in hits, bases on balls, and triples (tied with Ollie Beard). Cahill was first in the majors in stolen bases amongst fellow rookies (tied with Tommy Dowd), and was second in the league (first in the American Association) in doubles. On April 21, 1892, Cahill was released by the Colonels.

Later career

After his major league career, Cahill played for the

Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the NCAA's Division I-A in 2001, became a football only member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, and joined that conference for all other sports in 2005. Troy Univer ...

of the Eastern League for two seasons (1892–1893). His final season was 1894, before his death. Cahill played with the Troy Washerwomen, which later moved to

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

, and became the Scranton Indians. He was the

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 ...

of the Scranton baseball club.

Death

Cahill died on December 25, 1894, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He died from complications after an injury. Cahill was buried in St. John Cemetery in Fall River, Massachusetts.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cahill, Tom 1868 births 1894 deaths Baseball players from Massachusetts Sportspeople from Fall River, Massachusetts Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball shortstops Louisville Colonels players Worcester Grays players New Haven (minor league baseball) players Troy Trojans (minor league) players Troy Washerwomen players Scranton Indians players Holy Cross Crusaders baseball players Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni 19th-century baseball players American people of Irish descent