Happy Birthday to the late James Edward “Tip” O’Neill, one of the first Canadian ballplayers and one of the greatest Canadian baseball players ever. His career was in the 1880s and 1890s as a Left Fielder for mostly the St Louis Browns, who now go by the St Louis Cardinals.

Career (1883-1892):

.326 BA, 1,385 HITS, 52 HR, 757 RBI, .392 OBP, 879 RUNS

From 1886-1888, O’Neill’s three-year peak was arguably as good as any player to have ever played. 

1886: .328 BA, 190 HITS, 28 2B, 14 3B, 3 HR, 107 RBI, .385 OBP, 106 RUNS (138 Games)

1887: .435 BA, 225 HITS, 52 2B, 19 3B, 14 HR, 123 RBI, .490 OBP, 167 RUNS (124 Games)

1888: .335 BA, 177 HITS, 24 2B, 10 3B, 5 HR, 98 RBI, .390 OBP, 96 RUNS (130 Games)

Not only did he win the Triple Crown in 1887, but he also won the Quadruple Crown, which is when you lead in Hits, not MLB Recognized. While O’Neill isn’t in the Baseball Hall of Fame, he is one of fifteen players to win the Triple Crown. At the time, his .435 AVG and 167 Runs were the highest ever recorded in a single season. Overall, considering he led in Runs, Hits, Doubles, Triples, Home Runs, Runs Batted In, Batting Average, and On Base Percentage, his 1887 season is undebatably one of the greatest individual seasons in baseball history. Over 162 game pace, O’Neill was on pace for 294 HITS, 68 Doubles, 161 Runs Batted In, and 218 Runs. If your jaw didn’t just drop, something is wrong with you.

In 1986, he was among the first to be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Since 1984 the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame annually gives out the Tip O’Neill Award to a player “judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to the highest ideals of the game of baseball.” Current Hall of Famer Larry Walker received it nine times in his career, and current Cincinnati Reds Joey Votto, who will be in the Hall of Fame one day, has received it seven times.

References:

  1. Tip O’Neill Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/o’neiti01.shtml
  2. Tip O’Neill via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_O%27Neill_(baseball)
  3. Tip O’Neill Award via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_O%27Neill_Award