James Eugene "Wickey" McAvoy (October 20, 1894 – July 6, 1973) 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. He played part or all of six seasons 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), ...

between 1913 and 1919 for 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 ...

, primarily 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 ...

. After his major league career, he continued to play minor league baseball until 1928.

Major League Baseball Career

Wickey made his major league debut on September 29, 1913 at the age of 18 as a catcher for the

. He continued to play for the Athletics on-and-off again until September 16, 1919. His career batting average in the major leagues was .199. He played the greatest number of games in 1915 (64 games), 1918 (74 games), and 1919 (57 games).

Minor League Baseball Career

Wickey played minor league baseball for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

for part of the season in 1914, 1916, 1917, 1922, and 1923. He was part of 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 ...

Championship teams in 1922 and 1923. With a batting average of .310 in 1922, Wickey had several key hits that attributed to the Orioles taking the pennant in 1922. Wickey returned to his hometown of

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

in 1923 and played for the

Rochester Tribe The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

in 1923, 1926, and 1927. Wickey's career also included two seasons 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 Fiel ...

in 1924 and 1925. In 1928, Wickey played his last season in the minor leagues for the

Reading Keystones The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Rea ...

. He ended his career in 1929 at the age of 34 playing for the

Elmira Colonels The Elmira Colonels (also known as the ''Rosies'') were an American basketball team based in Elmira, New York that was a member of the American Basketball League (1925-1955), American Basketball League. It is, to date, the only major league sports ...

in the

New York-Pennsylvania League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

Personal life

Wickey married Bessie Peterson of

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

on April 12, 1923. Wickey and Bessie met in 1921 when Wickey was playing independent baseball in Kenosha. They had two children Elaine (McAvoy) Fischer and William "Billy" McAvoy.

References

* Major League Baseball catchers Philadelphia Athletics players Berlin Busy Bees players Baltimore Orioles (International League) players Rochester Tribe players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Reading Keystones players Baseball players from Rochester, New York 1894 births 1973 deaths {{US-baseball-catcher-1890s-stub