John Irwin

John Irwin

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 168 lb.

• Debut May 31, 1882
• Final Game August 8, 1896
• Born July 21, 1861 in Toronto, ON CAN
• Died February 28, 1934 in Boston, MA USA

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Biographical Information

John Irwin, the younger brother of Arthur Irwin, played in all four major leagues of the time.

He broke in for one game with the Worcester Ruby Legs in 1882, a team on which his brother was a regular. The Ruby Legs did not field a team in 1883, and John came back in 1884 to be the regular third baseman for the Boston Reds of the one-year Union Association. His batting average of .234 was close to the team average of .236.

John caught on with the American Association in 1886 and then played eight games with the National League's Washington Nationals in 1887, where he was one year older than catcher Connie Mack. John's .355 average in those eight games was enough to keep him on the team, and he played with Washington in 1888 and 1889. In 1889 with Washington, he played alongside his brother Arthur, who was at shortstop. John had a good year with the bat, hitting .289 on a team that hit .251. Ironically, before playing in the American Association, he had umpired a game in the circuit in 1885.

The year 1890 found him in the Players League, reuniting with Connie Mack on the Buffalo Bisons.

In 1891 he finished out his major league career with two teams in the American Association. One of the two teams, the Boston Reds, was managed by his brother Arthur.

The similarity scores method chooses for some reason Willie Harris, a player active in 2008, as the most similar player to John Irwin.