Mystery Solved: The Rest of the Tom Downey Story

Did Tom Downey’s major league career begin in 1908 or 1909?

On March 20, Greg Stephens wrote a great piece about former Reds shortstop Tom Downey, in which he recalled that an old playing card he possessed included statistics about Downey’s rookie season of 1908, but that official records indicated that Downey’s major league career didn’t begin until 1909. In a later comment, Greg wondered aloud: “He could have played 1908 for Chicago, or a farm team, or an independent league. The card didn’t differentiate. Wouldn’t it be interesting to be able to solve this mystery?”

Mystery solved!

Tom Downey spent the 1908 season with the Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association and was considered the S.A.’s best “base-stealing artist,” according to the Atlanta Constitution. He batted .281 in 142 games and was drafted by the Cubs following the season. The Cubs traded Downey and outfielder Kid Durbin to the Reds on January 18, 1909 for utility man, John Kane.

On May 15, 1909, the Atlanta Constitution reported that Reds manager Clark Griffith had named Downey the team’s starting shortstop. He’d been battling Mike Mowrey for the job, but Mowrey was got off to a slow start and Downey earned the starting nod. Frankly, Downey wasn’t much better than Mowrey that year, posting an OPS+ of 79 and committing 62 errors in 119 games. His fielding percentage (.909) was 17 points lower than that of an average N.L. shortstop. He also stole only 16 bases, which was less than impressive for someone described as a base-stealing “artist.” The Reds boasted six players with at least 20 steals, four of whom had at least 30, and one (Bob Bescher) who had 54.

Oddly, the Constitution wrote this about Downey on July 25, 1909: “Shortstop Tommy Downey continues to play baseball of the most brilliant brand for Cincinnati. He is in the limelight almost every game.” His statistics hardly corroborate his “brilliant brand” of play, however.

Griffith announced prior to the 1910 season that Downey would be the team’s starting shortstop again. According to Griffith, Downey’s 1909 season had been marred by injuries, which explained his poor statistics. The Reds’ skipper was impressed with Downey’s improved batting and claimed he was the best pinch hitter he’d ever seen. Downey’s batting had indeed improved (96 OPS+) and he was almost average, but his fielding got worse (.879) and he was moved to third base (.911), where he wasn’t much better than he’d been at short.

Reds president August Herrmann announced in December 1910 that Dave Altizer would be the Reds’ starting shortstop in 1911 and that he’d requested waivers on Downey. Apparently Downey’s arm wasn’t strong enough for the shortstop position, which accounted for most of his errors, and Altizer had been impressive in a late-season trial in 1910 (Altizer went 6-for-10 with three walks in three games, but wasn’t any better in the field than Downey and had less range). The Cubs and Reds entered trade talks for Downey in February 1911 that would have sent pitcher Jack Pfiester to Cincinnati and Downey to Chicago.

But Downey stayed with the Reds, and was their primary shortstop again in 1911 (Altizer proved to be a bust, hitting .227 with no power while committing 10 errors in 23 games). Again he was almost league average at the plate (95 OPS+) and again he was horrible in the field (.906).

On December 15, 1911 it was reported that Downey was released to Buffalo, but two weeks later the Phillies purchased the shortstop from the Reds. Downey was reported to have been delighted that he’d be playing with his friend “Sleepy Bill” Burns (the same Bill Burns who would eventually participate in the Black Sox gambling scandal). Downey played third base for the Phillies and enjoyed his best season as a batter (100 OPS+), but, again, was horrible defensively (.893).

He was sold to the Cubs in July, and stunk for them both at the plate (57 OPS+) and in the field (.792). The Cubs traded him to the Boston Braves in November 1912 for Eddie McDonald, but Downey wound up spending the entire 1913 season playing for Indianapolis and Louisville of the Class-AA American Association (he hit .215 in 223 at-bats).

He played for Buffalo of the Federal League in 1914 and 1915 and didn’t hit worth a lick (55 and 51 OPS+), but actually became a decent second baseman (.951). His playing career ended after the 1915 season.