Tim McGinley

Timothy Stanislaus McGinley

• Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown
• Height 5' 9½", Weight 155 lb.

• Debut April 21, 1875
• Final Game May 15, 1876
• Born 1854 in Philadelphia, PA USA
• Died November 2, 1899 in Oakland, CA USA

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Biographical Information

Tim McGinley is famous for scoring the first run in the National League history, in its inaugural season, 1876.

McGinley had previously played in the National Association, appearing in 45 games split among two teams in 1875. He was the regular catcher for the Philadelphia Centennials, who lasted only 14 games, and then became the regular catcher for the New Haven Elm Citys. With New Haven, his batting average was the highest among the regulars.

McGinley appeared in nine games for the Boston Red Caps, with most of those in center field, but his historic run came as a catcher in the team's first game, against the Philadelphia Athletics, on April 22nd. It is from the run forward that baseball has calculated the total number of runs scored, leading to the celebration of Bob Watson for scoring the 1,000,000th run in 1975 and Josh Donaldson for run #2,000,000 in 2021.

A site about people named McGinley has a biography and drawing of Tim. It is said he began playing professionally around 1874, and his career ended when he had an injury. He was dark-haired, dark-eyed, stood 5' 9" and was 155 lbs. He attracted the ladies due to his good looks. He was born in 1854 in Philadelphia, PA to Irish parents. He suffered an eye injury in 1876 and possibly that is why he retired and moved to California.

His obituary in Sporting Life appeared at the same time as that of Fred Waterman, who died the next month. In later life, Tim had interesting government jobs. He worked as a Deputy U.S. Shipping Commissioner in Philadelphia for four years, was in the Sheriff's office in San Francisco for a while, and served as private secretary to the Warden of the San Quentin Penitentiary. The letter comprising his obituary was written by an F.A. McGinley.

Related Sites

• Tim McGinley at the SABR Bio Project