Ed Irvin

William Edward Irvin
born William Edwin Irwin

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Debut May 18, 1912
• Final Game May 18, 1912
• Born 1882 in Philadelphia, PA USA
• Died February 5, 1916 in Philadelphia, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Ed Irvin (known as Bill Irwin during his baseball career) played one game for the Detroit Tigers in 1912, getting two triples in three plate appearances for a batting average of .667. It was the infamous game against the Philadelphia Athletics when the Tigers' regulars went on strike in support of their star player, Ty Cobb, who had been suspended for going after a fan who had taunted him from the stands. The Tigers had to quickly assemble a makeshift team to take the field against the A's on May 18th in order to avoid a huge fine. At age 30, Ed was five years older than Cobb.

Ed was born in Philadelphia, PA, two years after Christy Mathewson was born in Pennsylvania. Ed's exact day of birth is not known. He played six seasons in the minors, including parts of three seasons with the Kingston Colonials. He was working as a bullpen catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies when he was hastily recruited to take the field.

Ed's SABR Biography indicates that he was known during his lifetime as Bill Irwin. Unlike some of the other replacement players that day, he did have substantial minor league experience. The Phillies, who employed Irwin for a while as a warm-up catcher for their pitching staff, had let him play in an exhibition game against the Wilkes-Barre Barons. When the Tigers used Irwin for the replacement game, the press referred to him as having previously been with the Phillies. After the game, he played for the Columbia Comers that year. After his pro career, he played some semi-pro ball and worked for a railroad. He died young as a result of a bar fight (he went through a glass window, severing his jugular vein). The press and his death certificate referred to him as Ed Irwin.

"On the pennant-winning Portsmouth Club Pete Childs will have . . . Irwln . . . play first, Childs second, Hornung short and Conwell third, the old stonewall infield of 1910." - Sporting Life, April 8, 1911

Further Reading

• Kevin W. Barwin: "Paper Tigers: How a Player Strike Put a Team of 'Misfits' on a Major League Field for a Day", Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Vol. 52 Number 1 (Spring 2023), pp. 5-13.

Related Sites

• Ed Irwin at the SABR Bio Project