James Joseph Collins ( Eng. James Joseph Collins , January 16, 1870 , Niagara Falls , New York - March 6, 1943 , Buffalo , New York ) - American baseball player who played in Major League Baseball for fourteen seasons. As a playing coach, he led the Boston Americans to victory in the first in the history of the World Series in 1903. First baseman to be elected to the .
Jimmy Collins | |
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Third base player | |
Born: January 16, 1870 Niagara Falls , New York , United States | |
Died: March 6, 1943 (73 years) Buffalo , New York , United States | |
Smashes: right | Rolls: right |
Professional debut | |
April 19, 1895 for "Boston Beenithers" | |
Custom statistics | |
Beat percent | 29.4 |
Home run | 65 |
RBI | 983 |
Stolen bases | 194 |
Teams | |
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Awards and Achievements | |
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Member of the National | |
baseball hall of fame | |
Included | 1945 |
Voting | Veterans Committee |
Content
Biography
Early years and early career
James Joseph Collins was born on January 16, 1870 in a village near Niagara Falls . He was the second of four children in the family of Anthony and Alice Collins, immigrants from Ireland . In 1872, his family moved to Buffalo , where Anthony got a job in the police. Jimmy received his primary education in a Catholic parish school. He then entered the College of St. Joseph. Collins graduated in 1888 with a diploma in commerce. After graduation, he got a job as a clerk at Black Rock Station, owned by the railway company [1] .
As a teenager, Jimmy began playing baseball in various urban teams. In 1889 and 1890, he played for the Socials Club, which included immigrants from Ireland. Then he spent two years in the team “North Buffalo” from the city suburb of Black Rock, where Collins worked. In May 1893, the coach of the junior league "Buffalo Bisons" Jack Chapman suggested that Jimmy become a professional baseball player. Collins quit his job and signed a contract with the club. As a member of the Bison, he spent two years, becoming one of the best batters of the Eastern League [1] .
In November 1894, the Boston Beaters team from the National League acquired Collins for $ 500. The head coach of the club involved Jimmy in the position of the right outfielder . He spent just 11 matches for Beenithers, after which he was leased to Louisville Colonels to make way for Jimmy Bannon . Team head coach John McCloskey rearranged Collins to third base. Jimmy’s game at the new position made an impression and in August “Boston” recalled the player back, but he refused to return and declared that he would better complete his career and return to the railroad [1] .
The conflict was resolved at the end of the year. In November, "Boston" sold to " Philadelphia " Billy Nash and Collins was to take his place in the composition. At the same time, Jimmy until April 1896 tried to bargain with the owner of the club Arthur Soden a higher salary, but in the end was forced to agree on the amount of $ 1,800 a year. At the same time, the average salary of an American worker at that time was $ 500 per year. The controversy about the money with the team owner Collins led all four years, during which he advocated "Beenets" [1] .
Boston Americans
By 1900, he was one of the best players in the League and at the same time came to the conclusion that the game for Beenfers limits his ability to earn. In the same period, Collins acquired a residential building in Buffalo, having plans to rebuild it and rent apartments. Jimmy became one of the founders of the first players union, regarding organization as another way to increase salaries. Having participated in two meetings of the union, he was disappointed in his actions. In March 1901, Collins became the head coach and captain of the new Boston team - “ Americans ”. The club joined the American League created by Ben Johnson . One of the reasons why he agreed to take part in the project was that in the new league players could be co-owners of the teams [1] .
Team owner Charles Somers signed a three-year contract with Collins with a salary of $ 3,500 per season. In addition, he personally guaranteed the payment of these funds in the event that Soden sues because of Jimmy’s departure from Binters and requires a player to be disqualified. Collins also received a share of American shares. [1]
In 1901, the team led by Jimmy took second place in the League, and next season the third. More importantly, the Boston Irish community supported Collins and the Amerikans soon became the most popular team in the city. In the management of the club, Jimmy used the same principles as in his business in Buffalo, the essence of which was expressed by the phrase "Hire professionals and do not stop them from doing their job." At the same time, Collins' weakness as a manager was the inability to work for the future - there were practically no young players in the team and in the absence of a developed system of farm clubs he could not organize a network of scouts to find them [1] .
In January 1903, the American and National League signed an agreement, founding Major League Baseball. In September, the Americans won the championship in their league. The new owner of "Boston" Henry Killilea and the owner of " Pittsburgh Pirates " Barney Dreyfus agreed to hold in October the first series between the winners of the leagues, called the World Series . “Americans” lost three of the first four matches, but Collins managed to rally the team, which won four wins in a row and became the champion. In the eyes of the sports community, this victory confirmed the right of the American League to exist. After winning the World Series, Jimmy signed a new contract with Kililea, under which he received 10,000 a year and was entitled to 10% of the club’s income, in excess of $ 25,000. In April 1904, the son of the publisher of the Boston Globe, John Taylor , became the new owner of the team, a conflict with which later led to Collins leaving the team [1] .
In 1904, Amerikans won the American League Championship for the second year in a row, but the World Series matches did not take place due to the failure of the New York Giants players. Under the terms of the contract, Collins received an additional $ 8,000 from the club, which was another reason for John Taylor’s discontent. In January 1905, Boston Globe Magazine dedicated an article to Collins, in which he presented himself more like a businessman than a baseball player. In the summer of the same year, Taylor began to actively participate in the management of the club, seeing himself as a scout who is able to find new talents for Americans. All this only increased the hostility between the owner and the coach. In December, Taylor went to Europe and League leader Ben Johnson actually transferred authority to manage Collins. Taking advantage of this, Jimmy extended his contract for another two years. At the same time, he acquired a third of the shares of the club from Worcester , speaking in the New England League [1] .
The team's results meanwhile deteriorated. In May 1906, Boston lost 20 matches in a row. July 1, Collins left the team, deciding to focus on his own career. Johnson in the press called the player and coach deserter. However, his contract with the club continued to operate. After unsuccessful attempts to acquire teams from Buffalo and Providence , Jimmy decided to return to Americans. Returning to the leadership of the club, Taylor agreed to accept him back, but only as a player [1] .
In the winter of 1907, Jimmy married Sarah Murphy, but the marriage became known only in the summer when he was sold to Philadelphia Athletics . In August, his new team came out on top in the league, but could not stay on it until the end of the season. Jimmy spent the first part of the 1908 season at the club, but then was dismissed as the owner of Athletics Connie Mac decided to try the young players [1] .
Life after baseball
In early 1909, Collins accepted the offer to become a Minneapolis Millers team coach from the American Association. At the very beginning of the regular championship in Buffalo, his 8-month-old daughter Agnes died. Jimmy moved his wife, who was pregnant again, to Boston. At the end of the year, she gave birth to a girl named Kathleen. "Minneapolis" under the leadership of Collins took third place in the championship [1] .
In October 1909, he became the head coach of the Providence team, closer to Boston, where his family lived. Collins worked as a team until June 1911. His passive leadership style in the era of aggressive coaches gave no result. Jimmy tried again to acquire one of the junior league teams, but baseball’s growing popularity led to price increases. In January 1912, he and Sarah had another daughter, Claire. After that, Collins sold the shares of the Worcester team and left the world of professional baseball [1] .
He unsuccessfully tried to get a job as a coach at Boston College . Other attempts to organize a business also failed. In 1914, together with his family, Jimmy returned to Buffalo, where he bought a house in the south of the city. In 1922, he was invited to lead the Buffalo City Baseball Association after the organization’s previous president was arrested during a corruption scandal. In the early 1920s, his real estate business flourished, prices for which reached a peak in 1926. Then the Great Depression began and in 1927 Jimmy was forced to sell his house. By 1935, he closed his business and got a job at the Department of Buffalo Parks, while continuing to lead the City Baseball Association [1] .
March 6, 1943, Jimmy Collins passed away. Two months later, the Buffalo Evening News began a campaign for the election of Jimmy to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In January 1945, during the voting for Collins, 49% of the votes were cast, with the required 75%, but in the spring of the same year, the Committee of Veterans decided to include it in the Hall of Fame [1] .
In culture
Boston punk band Dropkick Murphys dedicated Jimmy Collins' Wake [2] to Jimmy Collins.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Bevis, Charlie. Jimmy Collins (English) . sabr.org . Society for American Baseball Research. The date of circulation is June 10, 2018. Archived June 30, 2017.
- ↑ Jimmy Collins Wake by Dropkick Murphys (English) . songfacts.com . Songfacts. The date of circulation is June 10, 2018. Archived July 6, 2017.