Johnny O'Brien

John Thomas O'Brien (December 11, 1930 – June 13, 2025) was an American second baseman and pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1953, 1955–58), St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Braves (1959). O'Brien batted and threw right-handed. His twin brother, Eddie, was also a major league infielder. In college, O'Brien was an All-American basketball player for Seattle University.

Early life O'Brien attended Saint Mary's High School in South Amboy (since renamed as Cardinal McCarrick High School), where he had been inducted into the school's sports hall of fame. After high school, he and his brother, Eddie, tried out for the basketball team at Seton Hall University but were rejected and went to work in a toilet factory. While playing in a national semiprofessional baseball tournament, they caught the attention of an opposing first baseman, Al Brightman, who coached basketball and baseball at Seattle University. In 1953, O'Brien became the first player in NCAA history to score 1,000 points in a season. That same year, the O'Brien became the shortest player to be named an All-American (in 2016, Kentucky's Tyler Ulis matched the feat).

To this day, O'Brien dominates the Seattle University scoring record book, ranking first in career points (2,733), second in career scoring average (25.8, trailing Basketball Hall-of-Famer Elgin Baylor), first in field goals made (904), second in field goals attempted (1,707), and first in free throws made and attempted (925 and 1,195).

He and Eddie were drafted by the Milwaukee Hawks in the 1953 NBA Draft, but both opted to play professional baseball, signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

O'Brien served as a King County Commissioner (later Councilmember) from 1962 to 1973. He was preceded as commissioner by Robert M. Ford, and succeeded as District 5 councilmember by Ruby Chow.

On November 2, 1972, O'Brien was part of the groundbreaking ceremony to start construction at the Kingdome. Protestors attended the ceremony, upset about the impact of the stadium on the neighboring Chinatown-International District. O'Brien and King County Executive John Spellman were hit by mudballs thrown by some protestors. O'Brien later became the Kingdome's first operations manager. He retired in 1987.

O'Brien's grandson is St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Riley O'Brien. O'Brien died on June 13, 2025, at the age of 94.