Jim Begley

James Lawrence Begley
(Imp)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 6", Weight 145 lb.
• School St. Ignatius College
• Debut May 28, 1924
• Final Game May 28, 1924
• Born September 19, 1902 in San Francisco, CA USA
• Died February 22, 1957 in San Francisco, CA USA

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Biographical Information

Jim Begley was a second baseman whose major league career lasted only one day. Still, he appeared in two games for the Cincinnati Reds on May 28, 1924, as he appeared in both ends of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals. He went 1 for 3 in the first game, and 0 for 2 with a pair of walks in the second, both times batting eighth. His professional career was not much longer, as he only played during that season, with 47 games for the Denver Bears of the Western League, during which he batted .181.

In spite of his small size, he was mainly a basketball player between 1920 and 1923 in his hometown of San Francisco, CA. Still, in 1924 he was signed by the Reds as a shortstop and went to spring training with them on the recommendation of Sam Bohne, who was his biggest supporter against critics that he was too small to succeed in baseball. He apparently had already passed the bar exam at this point, and was a champion boxer and the "greatest basketball player of his day in Frisco..." [1]. He was released to the Indianapolis Indians in mid April, but released back to the Reds in late May, when he played his two games, and only got to Denver in early July, at which point he still only had those two games as his sole professional experience. In December he left baseball to go work for a law firm.

Related Sites

• Find-A-Grave Memorial for Jim Begley