Charlie Reilly (reillch02)

Charles Thomas Reilly
(Princeton Charlie)

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 190 lb.

• Debut October 9, 1889
• Final Game September 27, 1897
• Born February 15, 1867 in Princeton, NJ USA
• Died December 16, 1937 in Los Angeles, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Princeton Charlie Reilly played eight seasons in the majors and had one of the best cups of coffee ever as a rookie. He is, however, more famous as the person who was apparently the first-ever pinch-hitter in 1892, and as one of the people involved in the formation of the Pacific Coast League.

Charlie broke in at age 22 with the Columbus Solons in their first season in the American Association in 1889. In 6 games at the end of that season, he hit .478 with a .913 slugging percentage (including 3 homers), in a league where the slugging percentage was only .354.

For the rest of his major league career he was an average or below-average hitter. He was part of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1894, a team whose outfielders all hit over .400, but Charlie was at .296.

Charlie played mostly third base, except in 1895 when he was primarily a shortstop. In his last year, in 1897 he was the regular third baseman for the Washington Senators. He also umpired a total of 4 National League games between 1892 and 1895.

His involvement with the start of the PCL is described here: PCL.