Former Umpire, Cubs Manager Hank O'Day Elected To Hall Of Fame

Hank O'Day was an eclectic major-league figure in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After a pitching career, he became a major-league umpire and was involved in one of the most famous plays in big-league history in the Merkle Game, September 23, 1908. That play had been presaged three weeks earlier; I wrote about it here last month in the beginning of BCB's "A Game In Cubs History" series.

He managed the Cubs in 1914; the photo attached to this post was taken during that season. In that era, team managers (Connie Mack was the most famous example) often wore street clothes in the dugout.

Monday, O'Day was elected to the Hall of Fame. Carrie Muskat has more details on O'Day's career:

O’Day was the only man in history to play, umpire, and manage in the National League. He was born in Chicago on July 8, 1862, and began his baseball career as a right-handed pitcher in the American Association in 1884-85. He spent the next four years in the NL with Washington and New York before winding up his pitching career in the Players League with a 22-win season in 189O.

O'Day umpired for 35 seasons and in 10 World Series. He died in Chicago in 1935.