Jim O'Rourke (1945)


Date of Birth: 9/1/1850
Date of Death: 1/8/1919
Birthplace: Bridgeport, Connecticut
College: Yale University

Jim O'Rourke played baseball as a youth in Connecticut. He moved on to semi-pro baseball prior to signing with his first professional minor league team, the Middletown Mansfields of the National Association, in 1872. The team lasted for only one season and he signed with the Boston Red Stockings in 1873.

Boston Red Stockings

O'Rourke played in just 57 games with the Red Stockings in 1873. He batted .350 with 98 hits. The following season, he batted .314 in 70 games, and in 1875, he batted .296 in 75 games.

The Red Stockings, which started as a team in the National Association, moved to the National League in 1876. That year, O'Rourke led the league in games played with 70. He batted .327 with 102 hits.

O'Rourke again led the NL in games played in 1877. He also led the league in on-base percentage. He finished the season with 96 hits, 14 doubles, a career high .362 batting average, and an on-base percentage of .407 in 61 games. The next year, he batted .278 in 60 games.

Providence Grays

O'Rourke stayed with Boston through the 1878 season before switching to another short-lived team, the Providence Grays, a National League team that folded after the 1885 season. He led the NL in on-base percentage in 1879 with .371. He had 126 hits, 19 doubles, and a .348 batting average in 81 games.

Return to Red Stockings

O'Rourke only lasted one season with the Grays and in 1880, he returned to the Boston Red Stockings, but again just for one season. He finished the 1880 season with 100 hits, 20 doubles, 11 triples, and a .275 batting average.

Buffalo Bisons

In 1881, O'Rourke joined the Buffalo Bisons, another team doomed to fail in the National League. In his first season with them, he batted .302 with 105 hits in 83 games.

O'Rourke's batting average dropped to .281 in 85 games in 1882. He played better in 1883, finishing with 143 hits, 29 doubles, and a .328 batting average in 94 games. He played even better the following year, finishing the 1884 season with 162 hits, 33 doubles, and a .347 batting average in 108 games.

O'Rourke was also the manager for the Bisons and he led them to 206 wins and 169 losses in four seasons.

New York Giants

After serving as player-manager for the Bisons for four years, O'Rourke left them after the 1884 season, a year before the team folded. In 1885, he joined the New York Giants. He played well with them in his first season, batting .300 with 143 hits, 21 doubles, and a career high 16 triples in 112 games.

O'Rourke had another good season with the Giants in 1886, batting .309 in 105 games. He had a career high 46 stolen bases in 1887. That year, he batted .285 with 113 hits in 103 games. His batting average dropped to .274 in 107 games in 1888. That season, he had 112 hits, 16 doubles, and 25 stolen bases. He improved in 1889, finishing with 161 hits, 36 doubles, 33 stolen bases, and a .321 batting average in 128 games.

Players League

In 1890, O'Rourke left the NL Giants to play with a different Giants team in the newly formed Players League. He played with them for just one season and he had career highs in hits (172) and doubles (37). He batted .360 in 111 games.

Return to New York Giants

O'Rourke returned to the New York Giants in 1891, and he played in a career high 136 games that season. He had 164 hits, 28 doubles, 19 stolen bases, and a .295 batting average. The following season, he batted .304 with 136 hits and 28 doubles in 115 games.

Final Years as a Player

O'Rourke finished his last full season in the major leagues in 1893 as player-manager with the Washington Senators. He played in 129 games with them and he batted .287 with 157 hits. He was a better player than manager, leading the team to just 40 wins and 89 losses.

O'Rourke returned in 1904 to the Giants for one final game as a player.

MLB Records

  • Led the NL in on-base percentage (2 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for O'Rourke in 18 seasons (1876-1893) in the major leagues include:

  • 5 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 172 in 1890
  • 3 seasons with over 30 doubles, with a high of 37 in 1890
  • 3 seasons with over 10 triples, with a high of 16 in 1885
  • 4 seasons with over 20 stolen bases, with a high of 46 in 1887
  • 11 seasons with a batting average of .300 or better, with highs of .360 in 1890 in 111 games and .362 in 1877 in 61 games

Career batting statistics for O'Rourke include:

  • 1,774 games played
  • 2,304 hits
  • 414 doubles
  • 132 triples
  • 191 stolen bases
  • .310 batting average
  • .355 on-base percentage
  • .776 OPS

Career fielding statistics for O'Rourke as an outfielder include:

  • 1,443 games played
  • 2,235 putouts
  • 297 errors
  • .892 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

After leaving the major leagues, O'Rourke played in the minor leagues for a time. He also was president of a minor league team.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Jim O'Rourke
ESPN - Jim O'Rourke
Baseball Reference - Jim O'Rourke

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