American baseball player (1866?1899)
Baseball player
John J. Healy
(October 27, 1866 ? March 16, 1899), nicknamed
"Egyptian"
and
"Long John"
, was a
pitcher
in
Major League Baseball
. Healy played for the
St. Louis Maroons
,
Indianapolis Hoosiers
,
Washington Nationals
,
Chicago White Stockings
,
Toledo Maumees
,
Baltimore Orioles
, and
Louisville Colonels
from 1885 to 1892. He was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 158 pounds (72 kg).
[1]
Career
[
edit
]
Healy was born in
Cairo, Illinois
, which earned him the "Egyptian" nickname, in 1866. He joined the
National League
's St. Louis Maroons in 1885 and made his Major League debut on September 11 against the Chicago White Stockings, at the age of 18. He made eight starts late in the season, going 1?7 with a 3.00
earned run average
.
[1]
In 1886, Healy pitched 353.2 innings and went 17?23 with a 2.88 ERA. He led the Maroons' pitchers in
innings pitched
and wins.
[2]
Healy, whose key pitch was the
fastball
,
[3]
also finished among the league's top 10 in
strikeouts
(213),
bases on balls
(118), and
wild pitches
(40).
[1]
Healy was purchased by the Indianapolis Hoosiers on March 8, 1887.
[1]
That season, he was the ace of the Indianapolis pitching staff
[4]
and finished with a record of 12?29. His 29 losses were the most of any pitcher in the NL.
[1]
Healy also went on an
"around-the-world" tour
with other American baseball players that year, playing exhibition games in Europe, Asia, and Australia. When Healy returned home, the mayor of his hometown honored him with "a special ceremony and a pin."
[5]
After going 12?24 in 1888, Healy was traded to the Washington Nationals for
Jim Whitney
. Healy started 12 games for Washington, going 1?11 with a 6.24 ERA before being released on July 8. He signed with the Chicago White Stockings three days later and went 1?4 for them before being released again.
[1]
During the 1880s, Healy had an overall
win?loss record
of 44?98; his .310 winning percentage was the lowest of any Major League pitcher in the decade.
[6]
Healy spent 1890 with the Toledo Maumees of the
American Association
. Once again, he led his team in innings pitched (389) and wins (22),
[7]
setting career-highs in both categories. He had a winning record for the only time in his career, and he finished fourth in the AA with 225 strikeouts.
[1]
In 1891, Healy was sold to the Baltimore Orioles. He compiled a record of 8?10 that season and 3?6 the next before Baltimore released him. Healy then finished his Major League career by playing one month for the Louisville Colonels.
[1]
He had a career win?loss record of 78?136, and in 2004, baseball historian
Bill James
wrote that he was the fifth-unluckiest pitcher of all time in regards to his record.
[8]
Healy played for the minor league
Minneapolis Millers
in 1895 and 1896.
[9]
He then retired from the game and worked as a
St. Louis
policeman before becoming ill. On March 16, 1899, Healy died of
consumption
in St. Louis.
[10]
He was buried in Calvary Cemetery.
[1]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
"Egyptian Healy Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
November 29,
2023
.
- ^
"1886 St. Louis Maroons Statistics"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
November 29,
2023
.
- ^
James, Bill; Neyer, Rob (June 16, 2008).
The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers: An Historical Compendium of Pitching, Pitchers, and Pitches
. Simon and Schuster. p. 238.
ISBN
978-1-4391-0377-7
. Retrieved
November 29,
2023
– via Google Books.
- ^
Carino, Peter (March 19, 2004).
Baseball/Literature/Culture: Essays, 2002-2003
. McFarland. p. 180.
ISBN
978-0-7864-1851-0
. Retrieved
November 29,
2023
– via Google Books.
- ^
Zeiler, Thomas W. (2006).
Ambassadors in Pinstripes: The Spalding World Baseball Tour and the Birth of the American Empire
. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 178.
ISBN
978-0-7425-5169-5
. Retrieved
November 29,
2023
– via Google Books.
- ^
James, Bill (May 11, 2010).
The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract
. Simon and Schuster. p. 44.
ISBN
978-1-4391-0693-8
. Retrieved
November 29,
2023
– via Google Books.
- ^
"1890 Toledo Maumees Statistics"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
November 29,
2023
.
- ^
James, Bill; Neyer, Rob (June 16, 2008).
The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers: An Historical Compendium of Pitching, Pitchers, and Pitches
. Simon and Schuster. p. 238.
ISBN
978-1-4391-0377-7
. Retrieved
November 29,
2023
– via Google Books.
- ^
"Egyptian Healy Minor Leagues Statistics"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
November 29,
2023
.
- ^
Gazdziak, Sam (June 24, 2021).
"Grave Story: Egyptian Healy (1866-1899)"
.
RIP Baseball
. Retrieved
November 29,
2023
.
External links
[
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]