As a player, manager, team captain, umpire, owner and league
president, Jim O'Rourke (1851-1918) spoke for the players in the
emerging game of baseball. O'Rourke's career paralleled the rise of
the game from a regional sport with few strategies to the national
pastime. Nicknamed ""Orator"" for his booming voice and his
championing of the rights of professional athletes, he was a
driving force in making the sport a profession, bringing
respectability to the role of professional baseball player. From
contemporary sources, O'Rourke's own correspondence, and player
files available through the National Baseball Library, a rounded
portrait of Jim O'Rourke emerges. Quick to speak his mind, the
outfielder played on nine pennant-winning teams, but his playing
career was overshadowed by his work in organizing baseball's first
union. After his playing days ended, O'Rourke attempted to
establish the Connecticut League, becoming the circuit's president,
secretary, and treasury. Though the league failed to fully
materialize, his Bridgeport Victors did play several games and were
one of the few racially integrated teams - a fact emblematic of
O'Rourke's efforts to change the national pastime. In those
efforts, he attempted to wrest control of the game from the owners
and empower the players. This work provides a behind-the-scenes
look at the growth of the national pastime from the Civil War
through the deadball era.
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