Tip O'Neill (baseball)

Tip O'Neill
Left fielder
Born: (1860-05-15)May 15, 1860
Springfield, Canada West
Died: December 31, 1915(1915-12-31) (aged 55)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 5, 1883, for the New York Gothams
Last MLB appearance
August 30, 1892, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
Batting average.326
Home runs52
Runs batted in757
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Member of the Canadian
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1986

James Edward "Tip" O'Neill (May 15, 1860 – December 31, 1915) was a Canadian professional baseball player from approximately 1875 to 1892. He began playing organized baseball in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, and later played ten seasons in Major League Baseball, principally as a left fielder, but also as a pitcher, for four major league clubs.

While playing with the St. Louis Browns (later renamed The St. Louis Cardinals) from 1884 to 1889, O'Neill helped the club compile a 516–247 record while also winning four pennants and the 1886 World Series. O'Neill won two American Association batting championships during those years and became the second person in major league history to hit for a triple crown, leading the league in 1887 with a .435 batting average, 14 home runs and 123 runs batted in (RBIs). He also rewrote the major league record book, establishing new records in at least eight categories, including the highest batting average (originally .492, adjusted to .435), on-base percentage (.490) and slugging percentage (.691), and the most hits (225), runs scored (167), doubles (52), extra base hits (84), and total bases (357) in a single season. His adjusted .435 batting average in 1887 remains the second highest in major league history.

O'Neill, dubbed "Canada's Babe Ruth",[1] was posthumously inducted into both the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Each year since 1984, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame has presented the Tip O'Neill Award to the best Canadian baseball player.

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