Tom Tinney

Thomas Brown Tinney

• Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown

• Debut April 28, 1884
• Final Game June 24, 1884
• Born 1855 in Philadelphia, PA USA
• Died May 10, 1905 in Philadelphia, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Tom Tinney was an outfielder/first baseman for the Washington Nationals of the Union Association in 1884. He played 32 games for the club. He is also credited with 4 games as pitcher for the Boston Reds and 1 for the Wilmington Quicksteps, two other teams in the fledgling circuit, but it is not clear that this is the same person. He hit .235 in his 32 games with Washington.

Tinney was long listed as "Fred Tenney", as a result of confusion with Fred Clay Tenney who was also on the team, but only played one game under the assumed name of "Art Thompson". He is also sometimes confused with Fred Tenney, who came to the majors a decade later. What little is known about Tinney is that he was from Philadelphia, PA and signed with Washington in late April. In 2019, SABR researchers were able to add a few more facts about him, namely that he became a police officer in Philadelphia, PA in 1886 and continued to play baseball on amateur clubs. They were able to locate a death certificate.

Further Reading

• "New Ballplayer Discovered", in Bill Carle, ed.: Biographical Research Committee Report, SABR, July/August 2017, p. 1.
• "Thomas Tinney", in Bill Carle, ed: Biographical Research Committee Report, SABR, July/August 2019, p. 6.