Barney Gilligan

Andrew Bernard Barney Gilligan (January 3, 1856 – April 1, 1934) was an American professional baseball player whose career spanned 12 seasons, 11 of which were spent with the Major League Baseball (MLB) Cleveland Blues (1879–1880), Providence Grays (1881–1885), Washington Nationals (1886–1887), and Detroit Wolverines. Gilligan, who predominately played as a catcher, also played as an outfielder and a shortstop. Over his career, Gilligan compiled a career batting average of .207 with 217 runs scored, 388 hits, 68 doubles, 23 triples, three home runs, and 167 runs batted in (RBI) in 523 games played. Although the majority of his career was spent in the major leagues, Gilligan also played in minor league baseball. He was listed as standing and weighing .

Early life Andrew Bernard Gilligan was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 3, 1856. He was the sixth child of seven born to Patrick Gilligan, a laborer, and Sarah Gilligan. Both Patrick and Sarah had immigrated to the United States from Northern Ireland. Defensively, he played 27 games as catcher and 23 as an outfielder. Next season, Gilligan continued to play for the Blues, serving as backup catcher to Doc Kennedy

By 1883, Gilligan had become the Grays starting catcher. Despite breaking his finger and missing two weeks in May, Gilligan led the National League in assists as a catcher, while his team finished third in the NL. He continued his tenure with the Grays the following season. Gilligan played in a career-high 82 games, while also recording career highs in RBI (38), strikeouts (41), and on-base percentage (.325) After finishing at the top of the NL, the Grays played in the 1884 World Series against the New York Metropolitans of the American Association. Gilligan went 4–for–9 over the three-game series, with the Grays defeating the Metropolitans three games to none. the Grays management sold out in November of that year. Later that year, Gilligan signed with the Lynn Shoemakers, appearing in 11 games before joining the Manchester Maroons for three games. For the next three years, Gilligan continued to play minor league baseball.

His career MLB batting average (.207) is tied with John Henry for the seventh lowest all-time among batters with at least 1,000 at bats.

After baseball After retiring from baseball, Gilligan lived in Lynn, Massachusetts, with his wife, Sara. He worked as a garbage collector before dying of erysipelas on April 1, 1934. Gilligan was interred at Pine Grove Cemetery in Lynn.