James Francis O'Rourke (November 28, 1893 – May 14, 1986) was a Canadian professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for the

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

Brooklyn Robins The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brookl ...

, Washington Senators,

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, and

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 ...

between 1912 and 1931."Frank O'Rourke Statistics and History"
"baseball-reference.com. Retrieved on 2017-05-14.

Biography

O'Rourke was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, Canada, and debuted as the third youngest player in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

at 17 years age. His best season was , when he batted .293 with 40 doubles, 5

home runs 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 ...

, and 57 RBI. In his career, he played at all four infield positions, primarily

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 ...

, where he had a .949 career

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

in 598 games. O'Rourke was also a longtime

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) Am ...

scout. In 1986, O'Rourke died at age 92 in

Chatham, New Jersey "The Chathams" (, ) is a term used in reference to shared services for two neighboring municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey, United States – Chatham Borough, New Jersey, Chatham and Chatham Township, New Jersey, Chatham Township. The two a ...

. He was inducted posthumously into the

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum () is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museum commemorates the great players, teams, and events from Canadian baseball history. History The museum was founded in November 1982 in ...

in 1996.

References

External links

1893 births 1986 deaths Baseball players from Hamilton, Ontario Binghamton Bingoes players Birmingham Barons players Boston Braves players Boston Red Sox players Bridgeport Orators players Brooklyn Robins players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Cincinnati Reds scouts Detroit Tigers players El Dorado Lions players Canadian baseball players Canadian sportspeople of Irish descent Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball players from Canada 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) managers Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Montreal Royals players New London Planters players New York Yankees scouts St. Louis Browns players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Utica Utes players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Wilkes-Barre Barons (baseball) players Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees {{Canada-baseball-third-baseman-stub