Jack O'Neill

John Joseph O'Neill

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 165 lb.

• Debut April 21, 1902
• Final Game October 3, 1906
• Born January 10, 1873 in Maam, Ireland
• Died June 29, 1935 in Minooka, PA USA

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Biographical Information

Jack O'Neill is the brother of Jim O'Neill, Mike O'Neill, and Steve O'Neill. Jack and Mike were born in Ireland, while Jim and Steve were born in the USA. Jack was the second of the family to come to the majors.

Jack, primarily a catcher, was not a strong hitter but got into over 300 games in the majors. He was with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1902-03, the Chicago Cubs in 1904-05 and the Boston Beaneaters in 1906. He got the most plate appearances, and had his best year with the bat, in 1903.

He came to the Cubs in a major trade that included Mordecai Brown coming to the Cubs.

Jack was 29 when he first came to the bigs, having played five seasons in the minors.

O'Neill participated in a very unusual double play, as recounted in a SABR article [1]. O'Neill was catching, and Jack Cameron was pitching to batter Al Burch during a major league game in 1906. Burch hit the ball, which struck Cameron in the head and flew back to O'Neill, who caught it and threw it to first base to double up the runner off first base. Cameron was given an assist, left the game, and didn't play again for a week.