Frank O'Rourke

James Francis O'Rourke
(Blackie)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10½", Weight 165 lb.

• Debut June 11, 1912
• Final Game July 28, 1931
• Born November 28, 1891 in Hamilton, ON CAN
• Died May 14, 1986 in Chatham, NJ USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Frank O'Rourke was a good-field, little-hit infielder who played 14 seasons in the big leagues, stretched out in the period from 1912 to 1931. He was 18 when he first broke in, if his birth date of 1893 is to be trusted, but then didn't come back to the majors for several years. At different points, he and members of his family gave different years for his birth, ranging from 1891 to 1894. His best year with the bat was 1925, when he hit .293 with 40 doubles (the league hit .292 and his team hit .302). In 1927 when he hit .268 with the St. Louis Browns who lost 94 games, he was 13th in the MVP voting.

As a rookie with the Boston Braves in 1912, O'Rourke was the player most used at shortstop by the team, but Rabbit Maranville came up as a 20-year-old rookie that year and won the job in 1913.

O'Rourke had been the Detroit Tigers second baseman in 1925, but lost his job to the young Charlie Gehringer in 1926.

After his playing days, O'Rourke was a minor league coach and also managed the 1931-1933 Milwaukee Brewers, 1935 Charlotte Hornets, 1936-1939 El Dorado Lions and 1942 Cordele Reds. He was later a scout with the Cincinnati Reds from 1941 to 1951 and the New York Yankees from 1952 to 1983.

While he was born in Hamilton, ON, both of his parents came from Pennsylvania, and by 1900, the family was back living in the state. There is more uncertainty about his youth, as he claimed at one point that he attended high school in Sandusky, OH, while other sources place him in Elizabeth, NJ at the time, where he began playing sandlot baseball. His professional career began in the New England League in 1911, where he lined up with the Lawrence Barristers. In 1912, he was with the Bridgeport Orators of the Connecticut League where he hit .354 in 29 games before being picked up by the Braves on June 7th.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1931	Milwaukee Brewers	American Association	33-32	5th		none	replaced Marty Berghammer (50-53) on August 4
1932	Milwaukee Brewers	American Association	88-78	3rd		none
1933	Milwaukee Brewers	American Association	67-87	7th		none
1935	Charlotte Hornets	Piedmont League	62-75	6th	Boston Red Sox
1936	El Dorado Lions	Cotton States League	75-64	4th	Cincinnati Reds	League Champs
1937	El Dorado Lions	Cotton States League	78-62	2nd	Cincinnati Reds	League Champs
1938	El Dorado Lions	Cotton States League	74-61	4th	Cincinnati Reds	Lost in 1st round
1939	El Dorado Lions	Cotton States League	59-75	6th	Cincinnati Reds
1942	Cordele Reds	Georgia-Florida League	48-78	8th	Cincinnati Reds

Related Sites

• Frank O'Rourke at the SABR Bio Project