Old Time New York Giant s Player: "Dirty Jack" Doyle

John Joseph Doyle was born on October 25, 1869 in Killorglin, Ireland. His family came to the United States when he was a child & settled in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Doyle came to the Bronx & attended Fordham University where he began his long baseball career. He began playing for Columbus in the American Association, eventually coming over to the Nation League. In 1892 with Cleveland, he got credited as being the first pinch hitter in pro baseball history, getting a game winning single against Brooklyn. He came over to the New York Giants later that season & batted .298.


He became the team’s captain & his aggressive style of play earned him the nick name “Dirty Jack”. He would argue with umpires, opposing players, fans & even his own team mates at times. During one game in 1900 he slugged the umpire when he was called out stealing a base. Fans jumped onto the field & Dirty Jack fought with them as well. The police broke it up & arrested Doyle right in the middle of the game. At the Polo Grounds in 1901 (while playing with the Chicago Orphans) he was heckled by a fan & jumped into the stands to beat him up, injuring jis hand.

In his Giants years he had a constant feud with John McGraw who was playing in Baltimore at the time. The two hated each other & by the time McGraw was named manager of the Giants Dirty Jack who was batting over .300 at the time was released three weeks prior.

He spent six seasons with the Giants (1892-1895 / 1898-1900/ 1902) having his best year in 1894 batting .368 with 103 RBIs 30 doubles & 43 stolen bases. He would only hit under 299 once in those years (.267)

Doyle would steal over 30 bases nine times in his career, including seasons with 62 (1897) & 73 (1896). He would steal over 40 bases five times while coming in the top 10 in steals four times. He is #516 on the all time stolen base list with 518 steals in his career. Doyle would hit over .300 six times & finish his career at .299.

In His 17 year career he played for 10 teams & served as interim manager with the Giants & Senators. In 1569 games he had 1811 hits, 316 doubles, 64 triples, & 971 RBIs. On the field at first base, he led the leagues in errors three times; put outs & assists once each.

Retirement: After his playing days he managed in the minor leagues, then became a long time Cubs scout for over 35 years. He even served as an N.L. umpire for 42 games in 1911. He even served as Police Commissioner for two years in his home town of Holyoke, Mass. Doyle passed away on New Years Eve 1958 at age 89.