Jerry Sweeney

Jeremiah James Sweeney

• Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown
• Height 5' 9½", Weight 157 lb.

• Debut August 22, 1884
• Final Game October 16, 1884
• Born September 4, 1857 in Boston, MA USA
• Died August 25, 1891 in Boston, MA USA

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Biographical Information

Jerry Sweeney was a solution for the Kansas City Cowboys in 1884. 1884 was the year of three leagues, and so teams were often scrambling to find good personnel. Sweeney, who was 24 that year, had not previously played in the major leagues and made his debut on August 22nd of that year. He hit .264, which doesn't sound like much till one realizes that the team's overall average was only .199. The team played in a park that heavily favored pitchers.

The Cowboys won only 16 of their 79 games that year in the Union Association, a league whose status as a major league remains controversial and whose caliber of play was much below the two other major leagues of the time. In addition to Sweeney, two other players played significant games at first base that year. Jim Cudworth appeared in 32 games and hit .147 in his only season in the "majors". Thomas Gorman, on the other hand, hit .321 in his 25 games between June 10th and July 25th. In spite of that impressive average, he never played another season in the majors.

Related Sites

• Jerry Sweeney at the SABR Bio Project