Patsy Donovan

From SoSH

Patrick Joseph Donovan was an Irish immigrant who adpodted Massachusetts as his home. It was in the town of Lawrence that he found what would become his livelihood in 1886: baseball. In his twighlight of his career, Patsy guided the Red Sox for 2 seasons as manager in 1910 and 1911 (both over.500). It was the last stop of a 9-year managerial career, after a well-traveled 17-years of playing. It seemed fitting that his career in baseball ended in Boston where it also had began as a player in 1890 , with the Boston Beaneaters (Later the Boston Braves now the modern day Atlanta Braves). Donovan joined the Boston Red Sox as a scout in 1909 and was instrumental in bringing Babe Ruth to the Sox in 1914 through his acquaintance with Ruth's coach at his Baltimore, Maryland orphans' home. Patsy died in Lawrence, MA on Christmas day in 1953, at the age of 88. By far, Patsy was the most successful Irish-born major leaguer with 2253 career hits, .301 lifetime BA and 518 stolen bases in 1821 games.

Contents 1 Career 2 Managerial Record 3 Transactions 4 External Links

Career

In 1888 and 1889, Donovan played outfield for the London Tecumsehs of the International Association at Tecumseh Park (today's Labatt Park) in London, Ontario, Canada, where, in his first season in 1888, he led the league in batting with a .359 batting average (according to the Donovan family Web site; however, the London Tecumsehs' official scorer C.J. Moorehead, in a 1903 copy of The London Advertiser, cited Donovan's 1888 batting average as .398), had 201 hits, scored 103 runs and stole 80 bases. His second season with the Tecumsehs was less successful due to a leg injury.

In 1890 he made his major league debut in the National League with the Boston Beaneaters, and moved to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms in midseason; it would be the only time in his career that he played for a league champion. In 1891 he played in the American Association for the Louisville Colonels and Washington Statesmen; he then returned to the NL in 1892, first with the Senators (the former Statesmen, who had joined the NL in a league merger) before going to the Pirates for most of the year.

Donovan starred with the Pirates from 1893 through 1899, notching six consecutive seasons batting .300 and serving as player-manager in 1897 and 1899. The team was sold late in 1899, during a time when the league was contracting from twelve teams to eight; new owner Barney Dreyfuss brought in Fred Clarke to be manager, with Donovan being sent to the Cardinals. He played for St. Louis from 1900-03, sharing the league lead in stolen bases (45) in his first season, and also managed the team in his last three seasons with them.

By the end of the 1903 season he ranked among the NL's top ten career leaders in hits and at bats, though he would drop from among the leaders before his playing career ended. His 64 career double plays in the NL ranked one behind Jimmy Ryan's league record. He then played for and managed the American League's Washington Senators in 1904, his last season as a regular.

In 1903 he broke Sam Thompson's major league record of 1401 games in right field; Willie Keeler passed him in 1906, before Donovan played his last several games and retired with a total of 1620. In 1906 he became manager of the Brooklyn Superbas, and he made his last few playing appearances that year, along with one more game at the end of the 1907 season.

In a 17-season playing career, Donovan had 2246 hits, 1318 runs, 16 home runs and 736 RBI's in 1821 games, along with 207 doubles and 75 triples. An excellent runner, he collected 302 stolen bases from 1890 to 1897, and 216 more after the statistic was revised to its modern definition in 1898.

Donovan joined the Boston Red Sox as a scout in 1909, and managed the team in 1910 and 1911. As a major league manager, he compiled a 684-879 record (.438) in 11 seasons. He was also instrumental in bringing Babe Ruth to the Sox in 1914 through his acquaintance with one of the Xaverian Brothers who coached Ruth at a Baltimore, Maryland orphans' home. Later he went to the International League, where he led Buffalo to pennants in 1915 and 1916, and also managed Jersey City in 1921-22 and 1925-26.

Managerial Record

Year     League    Team    Age  G     W    L  WP  PL
1897 National Lg Pittsbgh  32   135   60   71  .458   8  Play/Manag

1899 National Lg Pittsbgh  34   131   69   58  .543   7  Play/Manag

1901 National Lg St.Louis  36   142   76   64  .543   4  Play/Manag
1902 National Lg St.Louis  37   140   56   78  .418   6  Play/Manag
1903 National Lg St.Louis  38   139   43   94  .314   8  Play/Manag

1904 American Lg Washngtn  39   139   37   97  .276   8  Play/Manag

1906 National Lg Brooklyn  41   153   66   86  .434   5  Play/Manag
1907 National Lg Brooklyn  42   153   65   83  .439   5  Play/Manag
1908 National Lg Brooklyn  43   154   53  101  .344   7

1910 American Lg BostonRS  45   158   81   72  .529   4
1911 American Lg BostonRS  46   153   78   75  .510   5
                 BostonRS       311  159  147  .520
                 Brooklyn       460  184  270  .405
                 Washngtn       139   37   97  .276
                 Pittsbgh       266  129  129  .500
                 St.Louis       421  175  236  .426
     TOTAL                     1597  684  879   .438

Transactions

• January, 1900: Purchased by the St. Louis Cardinals from the Pittsburgh Pirates for $1,000.
• Before 1904 Season: Jumped from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Washington Senators.

External Links

• Patsy Donovan is remembered for a stellar season with the Tecumsehs by James Reaney, The London Free Press, August 13, 2006
• Baseball-Reference.com - career playing statistics and managing record
• The Donovan family Web site
• BaseballLibrary - career highlights
• Baseball Almanac
• The Deadball Era - obituary
• Baseball Ireland
• Brooklyn Baseball Club, 1907 season photo