John Sterling

Note: This page is for 1890 pitcher John Sterling; for broadcaster John Sterling, click here.

John Albert Sterling

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 172 lb.

• Debut October 12, 1890
• Final Game October 12, 1890
• Born September 1865 in Philadelphia, PA USA
• Died November 12, 1908 in Gloucester, NJ USA

BR page

Biographical Information

John Sterling played in one game for the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association on October 12, 1890 against the Syracuse Stars. He was listed simply as Sterling and was one of four amateur players who made their only major league appearance that day; he was the pitcher. It was the last game of the season, and was played in Gloucester, NJ. His three mysterious teammates for that day are Ham Sweigert, John McBride and Bob Stafford.

Early researchers confused this Sterling with a John Sterling who was a minor league player at the time, but it is very unlikely that the two were the same man. Still, based on based on that faulty identification, he was listed in encyclopedias as "John" Sterling for over 100 years. The only other detail known about him was that he was from Camden, NJ. But it turned out that he was in fact named John Sterling, even if not the one originally thought. Following up on earlier research undertaken by the late Richard Malatzky and by Peter Morris, researcher Justin McKinney tracked him down playing in Minneapolis, MN in 1888, then successively joining clubs in Jackson, MI and Ashland, PA. He was given a trial by the St. Louis Browns later that season, but did not appear in any major league games. Articles about him that year do mention that he was from Philadelphia, PA (Camden is located just across the Delaware River from Philly).

In 1889, he was with the Philadelphia Giants, an amateur team managed by former Philadelphia Athletics skipper Charlie Mason, who still had close ties with the team's leadership tandem of Bill Sharsig and Lew Simmons. In 1890, he was with another team managed by Mason, the Philadelphia Professionals, where he was a teammate of two other players who appeared with the Athletics that season, Ben Conroy and Andy Knox. Sterling also pitched for teams in Lancaster, PA and Albany, NY that season. This was all confirmed in his obituary.

Further Reading

• "October 12, 1890", in Bill Carle, ed.: Biographical Research Committee Report, SABR, September/October 2007. p. 1.
• "John Sterling Found", in Bill Carle, ed.: Biographical Research Committee Report, SABR, January/February 2023, p. 1

Related Sites

• John Sterling at the SABR Bio Project