Jim Donnelly

James B. Donnelly (July 19, 1865 – March 5, 1915) was an American professional baseball player whose career spanned from 1884 to 1900. He played all or part of 11 seasons in Major League Baseball, principally as a third baseman, for nine different major league clubs. In his 11 major league seasons, Donnelly compiled a .230 career batting average and led the National League's third basemen with 73 errors in 1886 and 275 assists in 1887.

Donnelly's longest stints were with the Washington Nationals (243 games from 1887 to 1889), the Kansas City Cowboys (113 games in 1886), and the Baltimore Orioles (106 games in 1896). In 1896, he raised his batting average to .328 and was the starting third baseman for the 1896 Baltimore Orioles team than won the National League pennant with a 90–39 record.

Early years Donnelly was born in 1865 in New Haven, Connecticut. His parents, Michael and Sarah Donnelly, were immigrants from Ireland. His father worked in a lock shop.

Professional baseball players

Indianapolis Hoosiers Donnelly began his professional baseball career in 1884 with the Terre Haute, Indiana baseball club in the Northwestern League. In August of that same year, he made his major league debut with the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the National League. In 40 games with the Hoosiers, Donnelly compiled a .254 batting average

In 1885, the Hoosiers left the National League, lost their major league status, and joined the newly formed Western League in 1885. Donnelly remained with the Hoosiers at the start of the 1885 season and compiled a .211 batting average in 32 games. Donnelly was sold in a deal that sent most of the Hoosiers' roster to the Detroit Wolverines.

Donnelly appeared in 56 games, all at third base, for the Wolverines during the 1885 season. He compiled a .232 batting average with four doubles, three triples, one home run and 22 RBIs. In May 1896, The Sporting Life wrote that " prettier or a headier fielder than Jim Donnelly it would be difficult to find", but found it to be a pity that he was not more capable with the bat. In the end, Donnelly's bat perked up considerably in his only season with the Orioles, as he compiled a .328 batting average with 14 doubles, 10 triples, 71 RBIs, and 38 stolen bases. On May 12, 1898, Donnelly appeared in his first and only game for the Browns – Donnelly's last in the major leagues. He had a double in his only at bat in the game. Donnelly was married in 1909 to Elizabeth Kissan. By 1910, Donnelly and his wife were living in Stamford, Connecticut, and he was employed as a railroad brakeman. Donnelly died in 1915 at age 49 in Meriden, Connecticut. Their statistics are often conflated into a single player record, but the two were unrelated.