Tip O'Neill

James Edward "Tip" O'Neill (May 15, 1860 – December 31, 1915) was a Canadian professional baseball player from approximately 1875 to 1892. He began playing organized baseball in Woodstock, Ontario, and later played ten seasons across four teams in Major League Baseball, principally as a left fielder, but also as a pitcher.

While playing with the St. Louis Browns from 1884 to 1889, O'Neill helped the club compile a 516–247 record while also winning four pennants and the 1886 World Series. O'Neill won two American Association batting championships during those years and became the second person in major league history to hit for a triple crown, leading the league in 1887 with a .435 batting average, 14 home runs and 123 runs batted in (RBIs). He also rewrote the major league record book, establishing new records in at least eight categories, including the highest batting average (originally .492, adjusted to .435), on-base percentage (.490) and slugging percentage (.691), and the most hits (225), runs scored (167), doubles (52), extra base hits (84), and total bases (357) in a single season. His adjusted .435 batting average in 1887 remains the second highest in major league history.

O'Neill, dubbed "Canada's Babe Ruth", While O'Neill was a boy, his family moved approximately 30 miles northeast to Woodstock, where his parents operated a hotel. and in 1882, he played for the New York Metropolitans in the League Alliance.

New York Gothams O'Neill made his major league debut on May 5, 1883, as a pitcher for the New York Gothams of the National League. Shortly after his major league debut, Sporting Life wrote: "O'Neill, the New York change pitcher, seems to have but one element of effectiveness in his delivery, viz.: fast and slow. This is a very weak reliance nowadays, as batsmen have only to note the speed of the ball and wait for a good one. O'Neill's delivery is wild and erratic -- hard work for the catcher and busy work for the field." O'Neill appeared in 19 games as a starting pitcher for the Gothams and compiled a win–loss record of 5–12 and a 4.07 earned run average (ERA). O'Neill compiled an 11–4 win–loss record with a 2.68 ERA and led the league with a .733 winning percentage as pitcher. Despite the injury, O'Neill established himself as the Browns' best batter, hitting .350 in 52 games, The 1885 Browns won the American Association pennant with a 79-33 record and tied the Chicago White Stockings in the 1885 World Series. The team also went on to defeat the Chicago White Stockings of the National League in the 1886 World Series. O'Neill hit .400 with a .500 on-base percentage, five runs scored, five RBIs, two home runs and two stolen bases in the World Series. O'Neill's adjusted average for 1887 remains the second highest single season batting average in major league history.

O'Neill's batting performance in 1887 also established new single season, major league records in at least seven other categories, including the highest on-base percentage (.490), slugging percentage (.691), most hits (225), runs scored (167), doubles (52), and extra base hits (84), and total bases (357). He also led all position players across Major League Baseball in 1887 with a 6.9 WAR rating.

O'Neill's hitting in 1887 helped lead the Browns to their third consecutive American Association pennant with a 95-40 record. The Browns lost the 1887 World Series to the Detroit Wolverines, as O'Neill hit .200 in 65 at bats against Detroit's pitching in the World Series. The Browns lost the 1888 World Series to the New York Giants, though O'Neill compiled a .349 on-base percentage with eight runs, 11 RBIs and two home runs in his final World Series.

In O'Neill's first six seasons with the Browns from 1884 to 1889, he appeared in 656 games, scored 585 runs, compiled a WAR rating of 22.5, and hit .347 with a .407 on-base percentage.498 slugging percentage, 925 hits, and 538 RBIs.

Chicago Pirates O'Neill followed Charlie Comiskey to the Players' League in 1890, appearing in 137 games as an outfielder for Comiskey's Chicago Pirates. He hit .302 in the Players' League with a .377 on-base percentage. He led the league in games played and ranked second with 647 plate appearances and seventh with 174 hits and 244 times on base. O'Neill appeared in 109 games as an outfielder for the Reds in 1892. At the start of spring training, Ban Johnson, then the Cincinnati correspondent to The Sporting News, expressed hope that O'Neill would help the Reds to a pennant: "Tip O'Neill is big, hearty and strong, and gives promise of doing great things for the club in the near-approaching campaign for pennant honors." However, his batting average in 1892 dropped 72 points from the prior season to .251, his lowest season since his rookie year as a pitcher in 1883. The following month, the New York Sun reported that O'Neill was one of the most frequent recipients of Comiskey's mid-game "lecture, without any curtain." By mid-July, The Sporting Life reported: "Tip O'Neill has lately been playing so poorly that the Cincinnati cranks have soured on him." He appeared in his last major league game on August 30, 1892, at age 34.

Career statistics Over 10 major league seasons, O'Neill appeared in 1,052 games (1,022 as an outfielder) and made 4,712 plate appearances and compiled a .326 batting average.392 on-base percentage, and .458 slugging percentage. He totaled 879 runs scored, 1,385 hits, 222 doubles, 92 triples, 52 home runs, 757 RBIs, 161 stolen bases, 420 bases on balls, and 1,947 total bases. Of the 35 players with higher career batting averages than O'Neill, only five eligible players (Dave Orr [.342], Pete Browning [.341], Jake Stenzel [.337], Riggs Stephenson [.336] and Mike Donlin [.332]) have not been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Later years, death and honours

Shortly after O'Neill retired from baseball, The Sporting Life reported in July 1893 that he was "making book" at Sheepshead Bay, a horse racing track in New York City. He also worked as a "big league umpire" and as a scout for various baseball clubs, including the Chicago White Sox. His body was returned to Woodstock and he was buried in St. Mary Cemetery. He was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

Other "Tip" O'Neills U.S. Speaker of the House "Tip" O'Neill was nicknamed after O'Neill. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, there were several other athletes who went by the name "Tip" O'Neill. In 1898, O'Neill wrote to The Sporting Life to correct a report that he was managing a baseball team in Montgomery, Alabama. He noted: "It seems strange that every ball player whose name happens to be O'Neill should call himself Tip. One Tip died in London, Can., a few years ago, and when I would meet friends that I had not met for some time they would take me for a ghost. The Chicago "Record" last spring had me dying of consumption."

The confusion of "Tip" O'Neills continues as some sources erroneously state that O'Neill served as the president of the Western League, a minor league based in the Midwestern United States. To the contrary, the individual who served as president of the Western League was Norris "Tip" O'Neill.

Years later, the future American politician and Speaker of the House, Thomas "Tip" O'Neill (1912–1994), was given the nickname "Tip" as a boy, due to his shared surname with the 19th century baseball player.