Read more
Roger Bresnahan began his major league baseball career in 1897 as an 18-year-old pitcher and ended it in 1915 as a catcher, after famously introducing shin guards for the position. He was so widely admired that the Baseball Hall of Fame awarded him a plaque only six years after it opened. He played every position, coached, and managed. He survived a near-fatal accident on the field and, as a first responder, helped save lives during the aftermath of a horrific railroad crash. He was later principal owner and president of the Toledo American Association franchise for eight years.
This first-ever biography, based on many years of research, covers Bresnahan's entire life and playing career as it intersected with American history.
List of contents
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Foreword
Preface
One. "A High Fast One, on the Inside"
Two. The Duke of Tralee Toledo
Three. "A Laurel to the Hibernian Brow of the Youngster" (1897)
Four. "Bresnahan Was Very Wild" (1898)
Five. "Speed Bresnahan" (1899-1900)
Six. He Would Never Again Be Known as a Pitcher (1901)
Seven. "I Signed to Catch, and That's the Only Place I'll Play" (1902)
Eight. "McGraw Has to Put Him In Somewhere" (1903)
Nine. "Bresnahan Is One of the Best Ballplayers in the United States" (1903)
Ten. "The Most Versatile Man in the National League" (1904)
Eleven. The Giants' First-Line Catcher and Leadoff Batter (1905)
Twelve. "Bresnahan Put Up an Extraordinary Game in Every Particular" (1905)
Thirteen. "The Best Catcher Living" (1906)
Fourteen. An 8,000-Mile Road Trip with Shin Guards (1907)
Fifteen. "He Was the Best Ball Player in America" (1907)
Sixteen. "It Is the Big Catcher's Natural Way to Fight for a Game" (1908)
Seventeen. "The Most Popular Player That Has Ever Stepped Inside the Polo Grounds" (1908)
Eighteen. "Something Besides Last Place Seems Certain to Ensue" (1909)
Nineteen. "Roger Bresnahan Is the Most Popular Man in St. Louis" (1909)
Twenty. "Bresnahan Shows Himself to Be a Great Baseball General" (1910)
Twenty-One. Bresnahan's Wrecking Crew (1911)
Twenty-Two. "The Player, Man and Hero" (1911)
Twenty-Three. And Now He's the "Duke of Tralee" (1912)
Twenty-Four. Bresnahan versus Britton (1912)
Twenty-Five. "I Never Quit on the Ball Field, and I Won't Quit Now" (1912-1913)
Twenty-Six. "A $12,000 Coach, Murphy's Mistake or a White Elephant" (1913)
Twenty-Seven. "Bresnahan Is Boss" (1914)
Twenty-Eight. "Bresnahan Has Held the Cubs in the Race" (1915)
Twenty-Nine. Roger's Long-Time Dream Realized (1916-1919)
Thirty. Bresnahan "Rather Enjoyed Presidenting the Team" (1920-1923)
Thirty-One. "I Didn't Have a Thing" (1924-1945)
Epilogue
Appendix 1. Roger Bresnahan's Team Associations
Appendix 2. Positions Played by Bresnahan in Major Leagues
Appendix 3. Toledo in the American Association During Bresnahan's Ownership
Appendix 4. Bresnahan's Playing Record at Toledo
Appendix 5. Roger Bresnahan's Major League Career Numbers
Appendix 6. Honors
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
