Thomas Joseph Loftus (November 15, 1856 – April 16, 1910) was a manager in the American Association, 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 ...

, and 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 ...

. His playing career began in

1877 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed ''Empress of India'' by the ''Royal Titles Act 1876'', introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great ...

with the St. Louis Brown Stockings of the National League, but he only played in nine career games in 1877 and 1883 as an outfielder. His first managerial job came in

1884 Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's '' Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price at ...

with the Milwaukee Brewers of the short-lived Union Association (it only lasted one year), in which he only managed 12 games (going 8–4). Loftus took over as manager of the

Cleveland Spiders The Cleveland Spiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899, first for two seasons as a member of the now-defunct American Association (AA), followed ...

, then known as the Blues, partway through the 1888 season after Jimmy Williams resigned. In 1890, he was hired to manage the Cincinnati Reds, who had recently made the jump from the American Association to the National League. He left the game after the

1891 Events January–March * January 1 ** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany. ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. ** Germany takes formal possession of its new Af ...

season, but he came back to manage the Chicago Orphans and the Washington Senators, and in each of his managerial stops, he would have part ownership of the team. Loftus died in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

at the age of 53.

References

External links

Baseball-Reference.com Manager page
1856 births 1910 deaths 19th-century baseball players Baseball players from Missouri Major League Baseball outfielders St. Louis Brown Stockings players St. Louis Browns (AA) players Milwaukee Brewers (UA) managers Cleveland Blues (1887–1888) managers Cleveland Spiders managers Cincinnati Reds managers Chicago Orphans managers Washington Senators (1901–1960) managers Minor league baseball managers Memphis Reds (League Alliance) players Dubuque Red Stockings players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players {{Baseball-manager-stub