Jimmy McAleer

James Robert "Loafer" McAleer (July 10, 1864 – April 29, 1931) was an American center fielder, manager, and stockholder in Major League Baseball who assisted in establishing the American League. He spent most of his 13-season playing career with the Cleveland Spiders, and went on to manage the Cleveland Blues, St. Louis Browns, and Washington Senators. Shortly before his retirement, he became a major shareholder in the Boston Red Sox. In the wake of this disagreement, he sold off his shares in the Red Sox and broke off his relationship with Major League Baseball.

McAleer's rift with Johnson, along with his sudden retirement, damaged his professional reputation, and he received little recognition for his contributions to baseball. The family lived on the city's west side, where the McAleer children were raised to value the concept of formal education. McAleer attended local public schools and graduated from Rayen High School. In later years, all three of the McAleer brothers moved on to successful careers, and the oldest, Owen McAleer Jr., served for a time as mayor of Los Angeles. In 1891, when Patsy Tebeau became manager of the Cleveland Spiders, the club became known for its aggressive tactics. Less proficient as a hitter, McAleer accumulated a lifetime batting average of .253.

On April 24, 1894, he assisted in Cleveland's 1–0 victory over Cincinnati with a single in the ninth that drove home Buck Ewing, who had doubled. Furthermore, he balanced his achievements in sports with a foray into politics in his hometown of Youngstown. During the summer of 1895, McAleer was promoted in the local media as a mayoral candidate, first as a Republican, and then as an independent.

In 1898, when the Spiders' owners purchased the St. Louis Browns franchise, McAleer opted to stay in Cleveland, taking a brief hiatus from baseball until the Cleveland Blues franchise joined the newly formed American League (AL). In 1899, the team won 20 games and lost 134, which is still percentage-wise the worst season record in Major League history. After a full year out of baseball in 1899, McAleer was back in a Cleveland uniform in 1900, in a new league, as player-manager of the Cleveland Lake Shores of the fledgling American League, then a minor league. McAleer's subsequent career as a major league manager (1901–11) overlapped with his playing career (1882–1907). Although he did not play professionally between 1903 and 1906, McAleer played in his last Major League game on July 8, 1907. a name borrowed from a team that had participated in the National League during the 1870s and 1880s. The Blues made their major league debut on April 24, 1901, with an 8–2 loss to the Chicago White Sox. McAleer, a close friend of Johnson and his associate, Charles Comiskey, played a significant role in the new league's development, recruiting scores of experienced players from the NL. Between 1903 and 1907, however, the team never ranked higher than fifth or sixth place in the AL. Then, in 1908, the club rebounded, finishing just games out of first place, with a record of 83 wins and 69 losses, landing at fourth in the AL. The Browns ended the 1909 season, however, with a record of 61–89, earning seventh place. McAleer was fired at the close of the season. a team that had ceased to be competitive since the death of star hitter Ed Delahanty six years earlier. The team fared little better under McAleer's management, finishing with a lackluster 66–85 record (seventh place) at the close of the 1910 season.

The high point of the season was a game in which McAleer initiated what became a baseball tradition. On April 14, 1910, he asked visiting President William Howard Taft to throw out the first ball of a season opener. Baseball historians Donald Dewey and Nicholas Acocella noted that the game "almost put an end to the career" of U.S. Vice President James S. Sherman, who "took a foul ball off the bat of Frank Baker directly in the head".

Managerial record Team Year Regular season PostseasonGamesWonLostWin %Finish Won Lost Win % ResultCLE 19011365482 7th in AL – – – –CLE total 136 54 82 0 0 – SLB 19021367858 2nd in AL – – – –SLB 19031396574 6th in AL – – – –SLB 19041526587 6th in AL – – – –SLB 19051535499 8th in AL – – – –SLB 19061497673 5th in AL – – – –SLB 19071526983 6th in AL – – – –SLB 19081528369 4th in AL – – – –SLB 19091506189 7th in AL – – – –SLB total 1163 531 632 0 0 – WSH 19101516685 7th in AL – – – –WSH 19111546490 7th in AL – – – –WSH total 305 130 175 0 0 – Total 1604 715 889 0 0 –

Executive career Boston Red Sox Jimmy McAlleer was the owner of this share of the Boston American League Base-Ball Club, issued 25. November 1911 Toward the close of the 1911 season, McAleer announced his resignation as manager of the Senators. That year, the Red Sox "cruised to the pennant with 105 victories". Although the Red Sox's loss to the Giants (at 5–2) guaranteed that the Series would conclude in Boston, the incident created conflict between McAleer and Stahl.

In the seventh game of the Series, the Red Sox opened Fenway Park with a 7–6 victory over the Giants. The team suffered a public relations fiasco, however, when a Red Sox shareholder sold seats at the stadium that had been reserved for the club's most ardent fans, the "Royal Rooters". Finding themselves without seats, the Royal Rooters, led by Boston Mayor John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, marched around the stadium in protest.

Following the Series victory over the Giants, McAleer returned to his hometown to celebrate the event. A brass band met him at Youngstown's train depot, and a parade and fireworks display were held in his honor. The Youngstown Daily Vindicator reported: "As the auto bearing Mr. McAleer turned into West Federal Street, hundreds of sticks of red fire were burning at Central Square, while the quiet atmosphere was occasionally punctured by the explosion of a bomb".

Downfall

McAleer's tenure as part-owner of the Red Sox came to a swift end. On July 15, 1913, McAleer became involved in a dispute with the AL president, Ban Johnson, when McAleer forced the resignation of Red Sox manager Jake Stahl, one of Johnson's closest friends.

Personal life Relatively little is known about McAleer's private life. Research suggests that he was married three times, with his first marriage (to Hannah McAleer) taking place in the early 20th century. The couple had no children. Ultimately, Georgianna McAleer survived her husband by more than five decades. While his name is included on some lists of Major League Baseball players who died by suicide,

Legacy

McAleer's hometown newspaper, The Youngstown Daily Vindicator, eulogized the ex-Major Leaguer in the following terms: "Forceful and resourceful, but always retiring when there was talk of his share in the development of baseball, James R. McAleer died within a matter of weeks after the passing of Byron Bancroft Johnson, his chief partner in the forming of the American League, and the man with whom he 'broke', which break brought about his retirement". Meanwhile, McAleer served as a contact for another Youngstown resident, John "Bonesetter" Reese, the Welsh-born "baseball doctor" who worked with players such as Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Walter Johnson, and John McGraw.

McAleer's contributions to the game failed to win him a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame, however. In 1936, during the first elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame, he received just one vote in the balloting for 19th-century figures. More recently, baseball historian David Fleitz observed, "this brilliant defensive outfielder was a smart, clever, and ambitious man who helped to create two of the original eight franchises of the American League".