Stephen Francis O'Neill (July 6, 1891 – January 26, 1962) was an American 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 ...
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 catc ...
and
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
.
He played his first 13 seasons with the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...
. As a manager, he led the
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 ...
to a
World Series championship.
Early life
O'Neill was born in
Minooka, Pennsylvania (now a part of
Scranton
Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...
), to Irish immigrants from
Maum,
County Galway
County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...
, Michael "Squire" O'Neill and Mary ( Joyce) O'Neill. He was one of four brothers who escaped a life in the coal mines by playing in the major leagues.
[Kashatus (2002), pg. 14.] They were
Jack, a catcher 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 ...
(1902–1906);
Mike, a right-handed pitcher in the NL (1901–1904, 1907);
and
Jim, an infielder with the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
Washington Senators (1920, 1923). Baseball historian William C. Kashatus noted that Michael and Jack "would become the first brother battery in major league history". The O'Neill brothers "were known to exchange their signals in
Gaelic
Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to:
Languages
* Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...
in order to fool the opposing coaches".
Later, two of Steve O'Neill's daughters married professional baseball players, one of whom was
Skeeter Webb, who played under O'Neill in the
minor leagues
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...
in 1939 and again from 1945 to 1947, when O'Neill piloted the Tigers.
Baseball career
O'Neill first played professional baseball in 1910 with the Elmira Colonels, managed by his brother Mike as a backup catcher. An injury opened the door to him getting playing time that saw him catch well enough to attract attention. He was signed by 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, they became the Oakland ...
, led by
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. Mack holds records for the most wins (3,731), losses (3,948), ties (76), and ga ...
. He played for Worcester in the New England League for 1911 before he was sent to the
Cleveland Naps
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...
on August 20 in a sale by Mack at the request of
Harry Davis (a longtime player for Mack), who had signed on to serve as player-manager for the 1912 season.
Steve would end up having the most successful playing career of the O'Neill brothers, serving as a catcher for 17 years in the American League.
[Kashatus (2002), pp. 101–103.] He made his major league debut as a September call-up on the 18th in 1911 for the Naps against the
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 ...
. He went 1-for-4 while stealing a base. He would spend the next twelve years with the team. He appeared in eight other games, collecting four total hits. He gradually played more for Cleveland in the next three seasons, going from 69 to 80 to 87 games; in 1913, while batting .295 in eighty games, he received votes enough to finish 24th in MVP voting. He then played a majority of a season for the first time in 1915, playing in 121 games while batting .236 with 91 hits and 34 RBIs; he hit two home runs that season, the first of just thirteen in his career. Aside from 1917, when he batted .184, he would bat above .230 for the rest of his career. O'Neill collected his first hundred hit season in 1919, doing so by collecting 115 hits in 125 games while driving in 47 runs; he batted .289 while also collecting 35 doubles with 48 walks and 21 strikeouts. The following year, he had his finest and longest season. He played 149 games and batted .321 with 55 RBIs and career highs in hits (157), doubles (39), and home runs (three). His final home run of that season came in the moment of tragedy. On August 16, he hit a home run off
Carl Mays
Carl William Mays (November 12, 1891 – April 4, 1971) was an American baseball pitcher who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1929. During his career, he won over 200 games, 27 in 1921 alone, and was a member of four Wo ...
of the
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 ...
.
That same night, as he drove in another run to win the game for Cleveland 4–3, a Mays fastball hit
Ray Chapman
Raymond Johnson Chapman (January 15, 1891 – August 17, 1920) was an American baseball player. He spent his entire career as a shortstop for the Cleveland Indians of the American League.
Chapman was hit in the head by a pitch thrown by pitch ...
in the head that saw him die that night; O'Neill and the rest of the team saw his body before the funeral and he fainted after seeing him in the casket. That season saw Cleveland win the American League pennant for the first time ever. In the
1920 World Series
The 1920 World Series was the championship series for Major League Baseball's 1920 season. The series was a best-of-nine format played between the American League (AL) champion Cleveland Indians and the National League (NL) champion Brookly ...
, O'Neill batted .333 by going 7-for-21 while driving in two runs (both in Game 1, which Cleveland won 3–0) as they beat the Brooklyn Robins in seven games.
[Kashatus (2002), p. 101.]
He was dealt by Cleveland in a seven-player deal that saw them trade
Dan Boone,
Joe Connolly,
Bill Wambsganss
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
P ...
, and O'Neill to the
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 ...
for
George Burns
George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film, and television. His arched eyeb ...
,
Chick Fewster and
Roxy Walters for the 1924 season. He batted .238 in 106 games while having 73 hits with 38 RBIs. He was put on waivers and picked up by the
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 ...
on December 15, 1924. In 1925, he played in just 35 games and batted .286 with 26 hits and 10 RBIs before being released. He spent the next two years in 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 (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...
before returning to the majors to play with the
St. Louis Browns in 1927, where he played 84 combined games in two seasons; his final highlight came in that season: On May 17, facing
Howard Ehmke, he hit a shot to left field for his thirteenth and final home run of his career.
During his last season in 1928, while riding a cab in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, he was hit by a truck that nearly killed him. His final game came on September 14. Facing the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
, he went 0-for-3. O'Neill compiled 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 .263 with 1,259 hits, thirteen home runs and 537 runs batted in (RBI) in 1,590 games.
Managerial career
When his playing career ended, O'Neill turned to managing in the minors. He started by managing the
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
of the International League from 1929 to 1931, serving as player-manager. He then managed the
Toledo Mud Hens
The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...
from 1932 to 1934. He soon gained a reputation for cultivating talented young players, some of whom went on to become Hall of Famers.
[Kashatus (2002), p. 103.] As a big league manager with four teams—the Indians (1935–1937), Tigers (1943–1948), Red Sox (1950–1951) and
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
(1952–1954)—O'Neill never had a losing record.
His Tigers won the
1945 World Series
The 1945 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1945 season. The 42nd edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. Th ...
(when they defeated the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
in the Cubs' last Fall Classic appearance until
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
) and O'Neill was known for turning around under-performing teams, often in mid-season.
He was hired by Cleveland manager
Walter Johnson
Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "the Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and Manager (baseball), manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Ba ...
in 1935 as a pitching coach due to his success with Toledo. However, O'Neill would become manager of the team after Johnson was fired when the team was 46–48. O'Neil led them to 36 wins in the remaining sixty games of the year to result in an 82–71 overall record (with three ties). The 1935 team finished third, but his next two teams finished fifth and fourth while racking up eighty wins before he was let go. He returned to minor league managing 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 1938, where he stayed until 1940 to serve as coach with the
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 ...
for a year. He then moved over to Detroit's minor league team in the
Beaumont Exporters
The Beaumont Exporters was the predominant name of a minor league baseball team located in Beaumont, Texas that played between 1920 and 1957 in the Texas League and the Big State League. Beaumont rejoined the Class AA Texas League (1983-1986) and ...
for the 1942 season. He was then hired for 1944 by the Tigers as manager to replace
Del Baker. While the Tigers only saw a five-game improvement in wins with O'Neill's first team, it was their first winning season since 1940. The next year, they went 88–66 on the strength of
Hal Newhouser, who won MVP as a pitcher. The Tigers led the American League as late as September 26 before playing their final series against the Washington Senators with the
St. Louis Browns close. The Tigers, having to play four games in three days, would split the series while St. Louis edged them out on the final day of the season to win the pennant. The next year, the Tigers would be involved in another pennant race that saw them come out on top; they took the lead for the pennant on June 27 for good, finishing 1.5 games ahead of Washington to clinch the pennant while Newhouser won the pitching Triple Crown and another MVP. In the
1945 World Series
The 1945 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1945 season. The 42nd edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. Th ...
, facing
Charlie Grimm and the 98-win
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
, the Tigers ended up losing two of the three games in Detroit before the series shifted to Chicago for Game 4. They won the next two games to take a 3–2 series lead before a twelve-inning thriller in Game 6 saw the series tied. In Game 7, the Tigers would rely on Newhouser (who started Game 1 and 5 with a win in the latter) to carry them through with run support as they won 9–3 to win their first world title since 1935. The 1946 team finished second with 92 wins as the
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 ...
trounced the League with over 100 wins, and the next year saw them win 85 games but still finish second. A fifth-place finish in 1948 saw him let go by the Tigers in favor of
Red Rolfe
Robert Abial "Red" Rolfe (October 17, 1908 – July 8, 1969) was an American baseball third baseman, manager (baseball), manager and front-office executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the New York Yankees from 1931 to 194 ...
.
O'Neill served as a scout for the 1949 Red Sox before being hired to take over as Boston's third-base coach upon the sudden death of incumbent
Kiki Cuyler. However, he was asked midway through the season to take over for
Joe McCarthy
Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age 48 in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the mo ...
as manager after general manager
Joe Cronin
Joseph Edward Cronin (October 12, 1906 – September 7, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, Manager (baseball), manager and executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop, most notably as a member of the Bost ...
asked him to resign; at the time the team was 31–28, but O'Neill led them to 63 wins in 95 games for an overall finish of 94–60. The Red Sox became the first post-World War II team to score over 1,000 runs in a season while also becoming the last (as of ) to record a batting average over .300. As late as September 18, they were just a game behind for the league pennant, but a late-season slump saw them lose seven of their last twelve games, which included three double-headers (with two wins out of six). The 1951 season proved to be an indicator of diminishing returns, as it would be the first of sixteen straight seasons where Boston did not win ninety games. They finished with a record of 87–67 for third place, eleven games behind the Yankees once again; O'Neill was replaced by
Lou Boudreau
Louis Boudreau (July 17, 1917 – August 10, 2001), nicknamed "Old Shufflefoot", "Handsome Lou", and "the Good Kid", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons, primarily as a ...
. At the time that O'Neill had been let go from the Red Sox, he had won 150 games and lost 99, and combined with his 199–168 record with Cleveland and 509–414 mark with Detroit, he had a managerial record of 858–681.
He took over for the Philadelphia Phillies midway through the 1952 season.
Eddie Sawyer had led the 1950 team (dubbed the "
Whiz Kids" by the press) to 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 ...
pennant, owing to the generally youthful status of the players (such as future Hall of Famer
Richie Ashburn
Don Richard Ashburn (March 19, 1927September 9, 1997), also known by the nicknames "Putt-Putt", "the Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" (due to his light-blond hair), was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He pl ...
). However, they had dovetailed from first to fifth the previous year, and a 28–35 record on June 27 meant that Sawyer was let go for O'Neill. He proceeded to win 59 out of the next 91 games, gradually moving them to a fourth-place finish. He won 83 games the next season (with two ties), which ended with his 1,000th win at the end of the season while finishing in a tie for third place with the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
(22 games back of the pennant winners). However, he did not finish the next season. With a record of 40–37, he was fired on July 15 for
Terry Moore (Moore would win just 35 games the rest of the way).
Legacy
His career winning percentage over fourteen seasons was a stalwart .559 (1,040 victories with 821 losses and eighteen ties).
O'Neill is one of 23 managers with
a winning percentage of .540 while also winning 1,000 games and he is also one of twelve managers to win 1,000 games without having also lost 1,000 games. Legendary players who benefited from O'Neill's guidance included
Lou Boudreau
Louis Boudreau (July 17, 1917 – August 10, 2001), nicknamed "Old Shufflefoot", "Handsome Lou", and "the Good Kid", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons, primarily as a ...
,
Bob Feller
Robert William Andrew Feller (November 3, 1918 – December 15, 2010), nicknamed "the Heater from Van Meter", "Bullet Bob", and "Rapid Robert", was an American baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Clevel ...
,
Hal Newhouser, and
Robin Roberts.
O'Neill was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame. He was also an inaugural member of the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame.
Personal life
O'Neill died at age 70 in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
, after suffering a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
, and is interred in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Minooka.
["Ex-Manager Steve O'Neill Succumbs," Standard-Speaker, Hazleton, PA, January 27, 1962.]
Managerial record
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball managerial wins and winning percentage leaders
Notes
References
* Kashatus, William C. (2002). ''Diamonds in the Coalfields: 21 Remarkable Baseball Players, Managers, and Umpires from Northeast Pennsylvania''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. .
Sources
Baseball Almanac
External links
*
*
*
*
:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Steve
20th-century Irish people
1891 births
1962 deaths
American people of Irish descent
Baseball managers
Baseball coaches from Pennsylvania
Beaumont Exporters players
Boston Red Sox coaches
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Boston Red Sox managers
Boston Red Sox scouts
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) managers
Cleveland Indians coaches
Cleveland Indians managers
Cleveland Indians players
Cleveland Naps players
Detroit Tigers coaches
Detroit Tigers managers
Elmira Colonels players
Major League Baseball catchers
New York Yankees players
Philadelphia Phillies managers
Reading Keystones players
St. Louis Browns players
20th-century American sportsmen
Baseball players from Scranton, Pennsylvania
Toledo Mud Hens managers
Toledo Mud Hens players
Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) managers
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