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MARCH 22, 1866–JANUARY 7, 1913

Major League Career

1886–1898

Time as a Red

1886

Position

CATCHER; FIRST BASE; THIRD BASE

THE MAJOR LEAGUE CAREER OF “HONEST JACK” Boyle got off to a historic start when, on October 25, 1886, he was involved in the first trade of major league players. His hometown Reds traded him to the St. Louis Browns, along with $350 in cash, for Hugh Nicol. The Reds got the short end of the deal. Nicol stood all of 5′4″, while strapping Jack was a foot taller. Nicol remains one of the shortest major leaguers in history; Boyle was the tallest major league catcher in the 19th century. Height aside, Boyle also was nearly a decade younger. Though an outstanding baserunner, the speedy Nicol, primarily an outfielder, was a weak hitter nearing the end of his career. Meanwhile, local boy Boyle, only 20, was just getting started.

At the time of the trade, his hometown Reds really hadn’t given him much of a chance yet. Earlier that year, the Reds were desperate for pitching and gave a tryout to a local boy named Bobby Mitchell, who had pitched for the team in 1877 and 1878. At the time, Mitchell was playing for a semipro team called the Blue Licks, and for the tryout he brought along his young battery mate, Jack Boyle, who had grown up in Price Hill. The Reds passed on Mitchell, but they signed his tall catcher before loaning him to the Richmond (Indiana) Henleys for the season. They brought him back and put him in the lineup for the final game on October 8, 1886. He went 1-4 in a 14–8 win over Baltimore. Less than a month later, his time as a Red was over.

His successful career, however, was just beginning. He went on to establish himself as a premier backstop and field leader for St. Louis—so much so that when Browns manager Charles Comiskey jumped to the upstart Players League in 1890, he talked Boyle into joining him. Both returned to St. Louis the following year.

In 1892, Boyle was dealt to the New York Giants, where he signed a contract for $5,500 per season, reportedly the largest baseball contract to that point. But his best years may have been in Philadelphia, where he played from 1893 to 1898, excelling at the plate as well as behind it, though by this time he saw more action at first base. In 1894, he posted career highs in nearly every hitting category, with a slash line of .298/.360/.406. Two seasons later, he was joined in the major leagues by his brother, Eddie, who was also a burly catcher from the west side of Cincinnati. Eddie played just one season, starting with the Louisville Colonels before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

By 1898, Honest Jack’s career was winding down when it came to an abrupt halt, according to an article in the Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune that reported he was attacked from behind and stabbed in the shoulder while walking down the street in Cincinnati. Though we were unable to verify the story, he never appeared in the majors again. He served as a player-coach in the minors in 1905 in Toledo and the following year in Terre Haute.

At 40, he left baseball behind and opened a saloon. Some sources locate it downtown on 7th street, others in Price Hill, where he continued to reside. He died in 1913 in his home on Academy Avenue, close to Elder High School, of what was then called Bright’s Disease, a chronic kidney ailment.

The Reds made history in making the first ever Major League trade, but in dealing Boyle away they also made a big mistake.