November 8, 1894: The Death of King Kelly

November 8, 1894: Michael Joseph Kelly, sometimes (erroneously) called baseball's 1st true superstar, dies in Boston, where he had been scheduled to appear in vaudeville. "King" Kelly had taken a ferry up from New York, and caught pneumonia. Had today's medicine been available then, he would have been fine. Instead, the pneumonia, and the toll of years of alcoholism, killed him at age 36.

The catcher had helped the Chicago White Stockings (Cubs) win National League Pennants in 1880, 1881, 1882, 1885 and 1886. After the 1886 season, he became the 1st player sold for $10,000 (about $308,000 in 2022 money), to the Boston Beaneaters, forerunners of the Braves. Although he didn't lead them to a Pennant, he became nearly as popular among Boston's Irish-Americans as the Heavyweight Champion of the World, John L. Sullivan.

He inspired a rule change: There was a game in Chicago in which he wasn't playing, and a ball was popped up. He ran onto the field, yelling, "Kelly now catching for Chicago!" so that the umpire could hear, and he caught the ball. Since there was no rule against it, the umpire had to rule the batter out. The following season, the rule was changed: No substitutions in mid-play, except for injury. (In other words, a player hit with a pitch and too injured to continue could have a substitute take the base to which he was entitled.)

He is believed to have invented the hook slide, making him the subject of the song "Slide, Kelly, Slide." There are those who believe he was the inspiration for the poem "Casey at the Bat," and he recited it in his vaudeville act, often getting the words wrong.

In 1888, he dictated Play Ball: Stories of the Ball Field to Boston baseball writer Jack Drohan, making him the 1st baseball player to "write an autobiography." Despite his reputation as a braggart and a drunk, research has shown that most of his stories have checked out, and the book is a godsend to people studying baseball in the 1880s.

In 1890, he was a willing participant in the Players' League revolt, and he led the PL's Boston Reds to the Pennant, his 6th league title. It would be his last, as age and his lifestyle caught up with him. He played his last major league game on September 2, 1893, and his last professional game in August 1894.

He might not have been finished, and if he'd taken care of himself, he certainly wouldn't have been. But then, if he had taken better care of himself, he wouldn't have been King Kelly. As great a player as he was, he wasn't very smart when it came to handling himself. He was thus a precursor to many players, including (in differing ways) Mickey Mantle and Manny Ramirez.

He was married, but his only child had died shortly after birth, earlier in 1894. The Baseball Hall of Fame was not established until 1936. When it elected him in 1945, there was no one available to accept his plaque. Had he taken better care of himself, he would then have been 87.

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November 8, 1894 was a Thursday. The baseball season was over. Saturday had been standardized as the day for college football. And basketball and hockey were still all-amateur. So there were no scores on this historic day.