Lou Galvin

James Louis Galvin

• Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown

• Debut October 1, 1884
• Final Game October 12, 1884
• Born April 23, 1863 in St. Paul, MN USA
• Died August 25, 1916 in Los Angeles, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Lou Galvin is not listed as related to Pud Galvin, but Pud was winning 46 games per year in 1883 and also in 1884, so anyone named Galvin got attention at the time.

His team in the Union Association in 1884, the St. Paul White Caps, played only 8 games and hit .180, so Lou's .222 batting average was OK. His ERA of 2.88 was better than the team average, and also better than the league average.

He was listed with having died in 1895, but that came into question. Both the 1900 U.S. Federal Census and 1905 Minnesota State Census list a Louis J. Galvin alive in St. Paul, MN and working as a policeman. The St. Paul Globe from December 22, 1901 also confirms he was working as a policeman. Furthermore, the 1900 Federal Census also includes the month and year of his birth - April 1862. Working with these clues, SABR researcher Peter Morris found a death certificate for a J. Lou Galvin in Los Angeles, CA, where his widow was known to have died, on which the parents' names matched those on earlier records for the pitcher, confirming that he had in fact lived until 1916.

Further Reading

• "Louis Galvin", in Bill Carle, ed.: Biographical Research Committee Report, SABR, September/October, 2015, p. 1.