Tom Pratt

Note: This page links to 19th Century player and umpire Tom Pratt. For the former minor league player and coach, click here.

Thomas Jefferson Pratt

• Bats Unknown, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 150 lb.
• Debut October 18, 1871
• Final Game October 18, 1871
• Born January 26, 1844 in Chelsea, MA USA
• Died September 28, 1908 in Philadelphia, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Tom Pratt played much of the 1860s for the Brooklyn Atlantics, and was called one of the "great players" of that era. The Atlantics were frequently a dominant team during that time period.

He played one game for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1871, and followed this extensive professional career by serving as an umpire, beginning in 1871 in the National Association. In fact, his first game as an umpire came four months before his debut as a player. He worked five games in the circuit from 1871 to 1873, then four more in the National League in 1886.

He also was an owner. His obituary in the October 3, 1908 issue of Sporting Life called him "a famous player-magnate". It said he was a pitcher in the 1860's for the amateur Athletics and Atlantics, and was one of the first to throw a curve ball. He was part of the group that organized the professional Philadelphia club (today's Philadelphia Phillies in 1882, then left two years later to invest in a club in the Union Association, the Philadelphia Keystones, who failed to complete the league's sole season.

If one counts the National Association in 1871 as a major league, then he was the first major leaguer born in Massachusetts.

Further Reading

• Robert D. Warrington: "Entering the National League: The Phillies' Bumpy journey", Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Volume 51, Number 2 (Fall 2022), pp. 74-87.

Related Sites

• Tom Pratt at Retrosheet.org
• BR minors page