John Shearon

John M. Shearon

• Bats Unknown, Throws Right

• Debut July 28, 1891
• Final Game May 9, 1896
• Born 1870 in Pittsburgh, PA USA
• Died February 1, 1923 in Bradford, PA USA

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Biographical Information

John Shearon was up twice with the Cleveland Spiders, first in 1891 and then in 1896. He played outfield and also pitched.

Shearon was playing minor league baseball at age 17 at Elmira. He later played at least 12 seasons in the Eastern League.

John came up in 1891 to play 30 games for the Spiders. While he could hit singles he drew few walks and had little power. He was not quite the youngest player on the team, since Henry Killeen was a year younger. John pitched six games, and his 3.52 ERA was close to the team ERA of 3.50. The young Cy Young was the team pitching star with a 2.85 ERA.

When Shearon came back in 1896, many of the same players were still playing for the Spiders. Young was still there, as were Jesse Burkett, Chief Zimmer, Cupid Childs, Jimmy McAleer and Ed McKean. The manager Patsy Tebeau had managed part of the 1891 season and was still player-manager for the team. Shearon played only outfield this time around, not pitching.

I would like to have Jack Shearon, as he is a splendid player and very popular with our patrons." - Opposing manager Jack Rowe, quoted in Sporting Life, Oct. 31, 1896