Patsy Flaherty

This page is for Patrick Joseph Flaherty, major league player in 1899-1911. For other players with similar names, click here

Patrick Joseph Flaherty

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 8", Weight 165 lb.

• Debut September 8, 1899
• Final Game September 14, 1911
• Born June 29, 1876 in Mansfield, PA USA
• Died January 23, 1968 in Alexandria, LA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Patsy Flaherty had success both as a pitcher and as a hitter. Flaherty came up briefly in 1899 and 1900, but didn't stick until 1903. In 1899, he pitched well, with a 2.31 ERA on the Louisville Colonels, Honus Wagner's team. Flaherty was a long-time friend of Wagner - "a longtime basketball-playing, drinking, and hunting buddy", as he is described by the book Honus: the Life and Times of a Baseball Hero. Per the book, Wagner had recommended him to manager Fred Clarke in 1899.

The Colonels were contracted out of the National League after the 1899 season, with many of their players, including Flaherty, being picked up by the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 1900 season. Flaherty only played briefly that season, then came back in 1903 with the Chicago White Sox, going 11-25 on a team that lost 77 total (the other two regular starting pitchers both went approximately .500). He did have at least one impressive game, though, matching up against Cy Young in a game in which both pitchers pitched shutouts into the 10th inning when Young himself got the winning hit. (Source:Autumn's Glory: Baseball's First World Series)

The next year, 1904, Flaherty was released early in the season by the White Sox, and the Pirates, who needed a pitcher, signed him. He surprised by going 19-9, and leading a good rotation in victories.

As a hitter, Flaherty had a low average but hit with some power. He was occasionally used as a pinch-hitter, and in 1911 (when he pitched 4 games), he finally became largely a position player with the Boston Rustlers, appearing in 19 games and pinch-hitting in a number more. He hit .287 at age 35 and slugged .426, both numbers comfortably above the team averages.

He umpired a total of five games in both the NL and AL between 1903 and 1907. He was a scout for the Chicago Cubs from 1926 to 1932.

Related Sites

• Patsy Flaherty at the SABR Bio Project
• Find-A-Grave Memorial for Patsy Flaherty