Tom Daly (dalyto01)

Thomas Peter Daly
(Tido)

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 170 lb.

• Debut June 9, 1884
• Final Game September 27, 1903
• Born February 7, 1866 in Philadelphia, PA USA
• Died October 29, 1938 in Brooklyn, NY USA

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Biographical Information

"During the fall of 1889 he entered into negotiations with the Brooklyn Club and finally signed with it at the largest salary, it is said, ever paid a catcher. He is a sure catch, wonderfully accurate thrower and a good batsman." - Sporting Life of Nov. 1, 1890

Tom Daly was a regular for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms for most of the 1890s and hit .308 between 1893 and 1901.

Originally a catcher, Daly reached the majors with the Philadelphia Keystones of the Union Association in 1884, playing in two games (which for many years were erroneously attributed to Con Daily). After two years with the Chicago White Stockings, he played for the Washington Nationals in 1889 and hit .300.

Daly moved on to Brooklyn in 1890, and the team won a pennant in his first year there. However, he was primarily a utility player for the club until 1893, when he became their regular second baseman. Once settled in at second, his numbers at the plate improved. In 1894, he hit .341 with 82 RBIs and 135 runs scored; however, that year he led National League second basemen with 68 errors.

After spending 1897 in the minors with the Milwaukee Creams of the Western League, he was back with Brooklyn late the next season. In 1899, he hit .313 and led the NL second basemen in double plays and errors as the club won the pennant. After winning another title in 1900, he hit .315 with a league-leading 38 doubles and a career-best 90 RBIs in 1901. He also umpired a pair of NL games in 1901

In 1902, Daly jumped to the Chicago White Sox of the American League. However, he struggled at the plate in a season and a half there and was then traded to the Cincinnati Reds, where he ended his big league career. That trade was one of the earliest interleague trades between the National League and the American League.

A switch-hitter, he was one of the top switch-hitting home run hitters of his time. [1]

Daly later went on to manage in the minors and was a New York Yankees coach in 1914. He also scouted for the Yankees and Cleveland Indians.

He was the brother of outfielder/catcher Joe Daly, who played in 23 big league games. He is not to be confused with another Tom Daly who also played for a while with the White Sox and also did some catching.

Daly was involved in a number of near-death incidents during his baseball career, making him quite possibly the unluckiest player in baseball during his time. During the baseball world tour of 1888, Daly was sharing a room with teammate Mark Baldwin when Baldwin blew out a gas lamp, causing both him and Daly to faint. In 1893, in between games of a doubleheader, Daly fell asleep in the outfield. Teammate Oyster Burns pulled out a small knife and poked Daly with it to wake him up, which resulted in a rather nasty injury, severing Daly's tendon. He was treated immediately and returned to playing two weeks later. In 1901, Daly encountered known-troublemaker Ned Garvin at a saloon. The two men got into an argument which resulted in Garvin pushing Daly to the ground and proceeding to place a glass cup on his face and stomp on it.

Notable Achievements

• NL Doubles Leader (1901)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1894)
• 50 Stolen Bases Seasons: 1 (1894)

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