Baseball History: Remembering Hugh Daily
Over the course of baseball history, there have been a few players with physical handicaps that have played the game. One of the first, pitcher Hugh Daily, was born on this day in 1847.
Throughout baseball history, there have been players who have gained notoriety for playing in the majors despite physical handicaps. Jim Abbott, who was missing most of his right hand, was the most recent of those players. Yet, as we look throughout the annuls of the game, we find players like Pete Gray, Three Finger Brown, and Monty Stratton, amongst others.
However, before all of those players, there was Hugh Daily, who was one of the first players in baseball history with a physical handicap. Daily had lost his left hand, and part of his arm, due to a gun accident earlier in his life. To compensate for the loss of his hand, he attached a pad to the arm, which he would use to help catch the baseball.
Daily quickly gained a reputation as one of the top amateur players in the game, receiving quite a few offers to join the professional ranks. However, Daily refused, mainly because he wanted to remain around the Baltimore area. Finally, he relented, and at 34 years old, made his major league debut with the Buffalo Bisons.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Despite having obvious talent, Daily bounced around during his six years in the majors. He appeared in all three major leagues during the 1880s, and did not spend more than one year with any team he pitched for. He had a reputation as a surly and contemptuous player, once punching his own catcher for throwing the ball back to him too hard. Yet, while the baseball establishment disliked Daily, he became a fan favorite. His rantings against the umpires and opposing players made him beloved by the assembled fans, regardless of what team he pitched for.
Even with his handicap, Daily found a good deal of success in the early going. He briefly held the all time record for strikeouts in a season, striking out 483 batters against 79 walks in 1884 while pitching in the Union Association. That year, he also became the first pitcher to ever strike out 20 batters in a game, although he was erroneously credited with 19 strikeouts at the time. The 20th batter reached base after the ball got away from his catcher, meaning that it was over 100 years later before Roger Clemens would tie the record.
After his baseball career, Daily largely disappeared from public consciousness. He was mentioned in the 1910 census forms as working as a clerk in a customs house while living with two sisters. In 1923, he was known to be a watchman in Baltimore. However, after that time, and at 76 years of age, Daily disappeared from the public record. While he is presumed dead, as he would be 170 years old otherwise, there is no record of his passing.
Next: Bellinger continues torrid season
There have been several players in baseball history who found success despite physical handicaps. Hugh Daily was one of the first to show that a handicapped player could still be just as valuable as anyone else.