Alex McKinnon

Alexander J. McKinnon (August 14, 1856 – July 24, 1887) was an American Major League Baseball first baseman from Boston, Massachusetts. He played for several teams in his short-lived career in the National League.

Early career and expulsion McKinnon began his amateur career with the Boston Stars in , then joined the Syracuse Stars, and played first base for the next three seasons.

In , McKinnon was a member of the Troy Trojans of the National League when decided to "jump" his contract and play for the Rochester club of the International Association, which was against the league's policy and he was expelled for this action. This expulsion caused a ripple effect that meant that no National League team could play versus Rochester, nor could they play against teams that had played Rochester. Though this could have caused the Association a great deal of money, they stood behind the team's decision even though National League President William Hulbert had made a secret deal that allowed Rochester to reorganize and circumvent the losses. McKinnon did not play very much during that season as he was struck with sickness for much of the time.

McKinnon moved on the St. Louis Maroons for the next two seasons. In , he batted .294 and significantly improved his fielding at first base with a league leading .978 fielding percentage. This was his only stint as manager during his career. His hitting continued to improve in , when he batted .301 and hit eight home runs. After the season, on December 1, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Alleghenys for Otto Schomberg and $400. Pittsburgh wore a black crêpe on their uniforms for the rest of the season to honor Alex.