Mert Hackett

“Mertie is a rather giddy young man, parts his hair in the middle, wears patent leathers, and dotes on the ladies.” — The Sporting News1

Mert Hackett was a catcher for five years in the 1880s, including three with Boston of the National League where he was their reserve catcher on the 1883 club which won the NL pennant. His asset to Boston was in handling their two workhorse pitchers, Jim “Grasshopper” Whitney and Charlie Buffinton. “Mertie” as he was called (sometimes spelled “Murtie” or “Myrtie”) “did most of the catching for this pair,” wrote James C. O’Leary in the Boston Globe, “and was an artist of the first rank.”2 In the days of primitive finger gloves and no protective gear, Hackett handled the lanky Whitney’s hop, step, and jump delivery (later declared illegal) with which he could “soak the ball to his catcher with frightful power,” wrote the Washington Post. “He used up both Mike Hines and Mertie Hackett, his backstops, that year.”3 Meanwhile, Tim Murnane of the Globe remembered Buffinton’s masterful “drop ball that fell into the hands of his catcher like a snowflake.”4

“The pitchers had plenty of steam,” Hackett remembered of those days in the 19th century. “They would take a hop and a step and send the ball whirling to the batter, who was only 45 feet away from the pitcher’s box.”5 Mertie remembered standing 50 feet back of the plate and moving up closer with a man on base or two strikes on the batter.6 Hackett played at a time when pitching deliveries and equipment were still evolving, and he didn’t stick around long enough to see these innovations have much impact on his career. His new uniform would be that of a police officer.

Mortimer Martin Hackett was born November 11, 1859, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, across the Charles River from Boston. His parents were Walter H. and Mary (Norris) Hackett, who were both born in Ireland. Walter was a gardener/laborer who operated “Walter Hackett’s Yard,” and a glance at the town directory revealed several people who worked for him. In a help wanted ad in 1862, Walter sought an additional gardener who could also tend to his horses and carriages.7

The Hacketts were a large family to care for. In addition to Mortimer were his siblings Mary M., Bridget, John, Catherine, Anne, Maggie, Jane, Thomas, and Walter Henry Hackett, who would join Mortimer in the major leagues. Their extended family included cousins who were future major-leaguers: Dad Clarkson, John Clarkson, and Walter Clarkson.

Mortimer Hackett was known for his athletic abilities while at Cambridge schools. He later played baseball for the local Riversides of Cambridge in 1879, playing center field, third base and catching. One such game featured three future major-leaguers. “Hackett (Mert) is A No. 1, and he stands up to the bat like a man,” praised the local Cambridge Chronicle. “His delivery is perfect, his catching almost faultless, and his record in base ball circles has been good. His brother (Walter), on second base, is well deserving. (John) Clarkson is not to be beat, his delivery being even and swift.”8 In 1882, Hackett was the primary catcher for the Newtons club. He received a tryout with Boston in an exhibition game at the end of the season against Hyde Park. Hackett was impressive, and he soon signed a contract for the 1883 season.9

Hackett, who threw and batted right-handed, was 5-feet-10 and weighed 175 pounds. He made his big-league debut for Boston in center field on May 2 at New York. He went 0-for–3 with an error but quickly settled in as the primary catcher for Jim “Grasshopper” Whitney. “The two men thoroughly understand each other and work together like machinery,” was a later assessment of the battery.10

By July, sportswriters realized Boston had an excellent catching duo in Mike Hines and Hackett, the latter seeing more time behind the plate. “It was a great mistake,” wrote the Globe, “to put Hines in right along and keep Hackett in the grand stand ticket office [a typical job at the time for a reserve player]. It should have been Buffinton and Hackett, Whitney and Hines.”11

Hackett contributed to a 7-0 win on August 14 against Philadelphia when he launched his first career home run, which the Globe called “the hit of the game.” His glove work also won praise. “Both sides fielded finely, most of the work of the Bostons being done by Hackett and Buffinton.”12

Hackett’s bat helped Boston win a crucial game as they drove to the pennant. Boston began the day on September 12 just a half-game ahead of Chicago in the standings. A Boston four-run sixth included a Hackett home run in an 11-2 rout of the champions. Hackett was praised for “catching almost perfectly and making some magnificent stops” on September 25 when he replaced the injured Hines behind the plate.13 Boston defeated Buffalo, 8-5, drawing closer to a pennant. Hackett was a major presence in the pennant-clinching game on September 27 in a 4-1 victory over Cleveland. “The feature of the Bostons’ play was the splendid catching of Hackett,” the Globe reported, “who held Whitney with surprising ease. His throwing was first class.” “That settles it,” was the Globe headline, putting the finishing touch on a remarkable season in which Boston was 8½ games behind and in fourth place on July 28 – but went 31-7 thereafter. Hackett and his Boston mates were forever connected to their surprise championship season.14 

In the Globe’s season recap, Hackett was praised because “his clever work in the position has deserved the accommodation it has received. Whatever doubts were expressed concerning his abilities at the beginning of the season must have been dispelled by this time. He holds Buffinton finely, and throws easily and accurately. He can hold Whitney’s swiftest delivery, and shirks nothing.”15 Hackett split time with Hines behind the plate, and the two of them, with Buffinton and Whitney, took regular turns covering the outfield.

Hackett was impressive in 1884 as well. “There are few catchers in the country doing as good work as Hackett,” wrote the Globe. “His work is clean and beautifully done.”16 On July 15, Boston was knotted 0-0 with Providence through seven innings at the South End Grounds, Buffinton dueling with the Grays’ Cyclone Miller. “Hackett’s catching was superb,” remarked the Globe, “as ‘Buff’ was inclined to be wild.” The Grays pulled ahead, 3-1, entering the ninth. Boston loaded the bases on three singles, and Hackett dropped in a single to center, scoring two and tying the game “while hats went into the air amidst wild confusion” among the 4,122 fans. Joe Hornung lifted the ball into the gap in left field and Hackett trotted home amidst such “wild manifestation of enthusiasm” from the crowd as had not been seen at the ballyard that year. Maybe the Globe exaggerated when it claimed that this ninth inning was the most exciting ever seen in the city. Nevertheless, the win was significant, as Boston led Providence by one game in the standings when the day began, prompting the comment “Hackett saves for Boston the lead in the league.”17

Boston looked like a strong contender for back-to-back pennants. They spent 81 days in first place and finished strong at 73-38 (with five ties), but Providence overcame them, taking over first place for good in early August, going 27-1 between August 7 and September 18 to easily take the pennant.

Modern analytics may help us understand better Hackett’s strength to his 1883-84 Boston teams, especially his Range Factor (measuring how well he got to balls in play through his putouts and assists. Hackett’s 1884 season was his best season in this regard, leading the NL in both categories (8.68/game, 8.97/9 innings). His range factors were slightly below these numbers in 1883, but he still ranked in the top three. The Boston pitching staff had the most strikeouts and fewest walks in the NL in both seasons. Boston also presented a tight defense behind him, which ranked in the top four in both seasons, and they committed the second-fewest errors in ’83 and the fewest in ’84. At the plate, Mertie batted .235 and .205 in these two seasons.

“No catcher ever did better work,” the Globe praised, “than Hackett in 1884 for the Bostons.”18 Yet, even with a solid year, impressive rookie Tom Gunning was signed in midyear and showed promise behind the plate in exhibition games. “Hackett will have to look to his laurels,” warned the Globe.19

Boston collapsed to fifth place in 1885, and Hackett saw action in only 34 games. Gunning and Pat Dealy pushed him to a third-string role. Perhaps this can be attributed to Hackett’s contract holdout early in the season, an undisclosed illness, a finger injury, or Boston’s growing satisfaction with Gunning behind the plate.20 All of these took place that year. “Such catching as that of Tom Gunning’s,” wrote the Globe, “has rarely been seen on the South End Grounds. He stopped balls that seemed impossible to handle.”21 Hackett faced the old adage, “What have you done for me lately?” as his starting job had disappeared. “Hackett wants to get away from Boston,” the Globe reported in December, “and he will now have an opportunity, as Gunning, (Pop) Tate, and (Pat) Dealy will make with (recently acquired) (Con) Daily a great quartet of catchers.”22

A new opportunity awaited Hackett in Kansas City, an expansion franchise admitted to the National League in 1886. In early March, Boston sold Hackett and Whitney to the Cowboys. “Boston loses the best back-stop in the country,” the Globe stated.”23

Hackett was called “a thoroughly honest and painstaking player and a general favorite with every member of the team,” by the Kansas City Times as the season began.24 His time in Kansas City, however, was disappointing, as were the 30-91-5 Cowboys. His 66 passed balls were second most in the NL, and the Kansas City press believed he lost his motivation. In a July game in Chicago, Hackett batted with one out and a runner at third. He grounded to short, and while the throw came home and the runner was tagged out, Hackett stood there watching at the plate and was also tagged out, “thus completing a double play that has seldom, if ever, been seen before,” the Times critiqued.25 In September, the Times noted more of his lackluster play, calling Hackett “one of the laziest men behind the bat in the profession. He never attempts to capture foul flies and at the bat he is useless. He seldom shows spirit or even any interest in the game.” He also threw a temper tantrum – “kicking [Jack, of St. Louis) Glasscock with a spiked shoe was as childish as it was reprehensible,” wrote the Times.26 At the end of the month, Hackett allowed 10 stolen bases in a game, prompting the headline “The Giants Have a Picnic.”27 Kansas City was certainly no picnic for Hackett, but it would soon end.

The Kansas City franchise disbanded after one season, and Hackett joined another expansion franchise in 1887, Indianapolis. Like Kansas City, this was a poor club; it was 6-22 at the end of May and blew through three managers during the season. The last skipper, Horace Fogel, fined Hackett $100 and suspended him for insubordination. Hackett had shown up uniform-less for a July game in Philadelphia. Fogel had promised Hackett some free time to visit family in Boston, but because of injuries he needed him to catch an exhibition game in Trenton, New Jersey, against the all-Black Cuban Giants. Hackett was furious and declared he would “be _________ if he played against niggers.”28  Hackett packed his bags and left.29 The Indianapolis ownership responded to these actions by stating:

There are over one hundred stockholders in the club, and they are all men of good business standing. Their support was obtained only by the promise that the game was to be conducted on a more respectable scale than it had ever been previously, and the consequence is the best citizens are interested in the sport. But one thing—the disgraceful debauch of two or three of the Indianapolis players a few weeks since—has occurred to injure the reputation of the sport, and the management is trying hard to overcome the evil effects of that event.30

Hackett eventually returned to Indianapolis, the club failing to trade him.31 He played his final major-league game on October 6 against Detroit, striking out in his final at-bat as Indianapolis lost, 7-6.32 Hackett and others were accused of a conspiracy to hold out for higher salaries in the spring of 1888. Indianapolis signed another catcher, and Hackett was expendable. Hackett received no interest from other NL clubs. He returned to Cambridge and told reporters of his unfair treatment in Indianapolis. He was officially released by the club in May 1888.33

In 1889, Murnane published a letter in the Globe from a correspondent in Cambridge who defended Hackett in the Indianapolis fiasco. The writer affirmed that when Hackett came back east, he had received word that “two or three of his sister’s children were dead or dying and naturally felt it his duty to lend her what comfort he could in the time of her bereavement.” Hackett had previous friction with Fogle, and despite other catchers volunteering to fill in, he declined Hackett’s travel request. These stories in the press, however, seemed too difficult for Hackett to overcome.34

In mid-July, Mertie became the player-manager of Troy in the International Association. He was reunited with his brother Walter, but both brothers were soon gone when they refused to take a salary cut.35 Mertie’s old Boston manager, John Morrill, gave Hackett a tryout and was convinced of his fitness. Hackett caught some exhibition games at the end of the 1888 season and also a benefit game for down-and-out former player Curry Foley.36 Both Hackett brothers were involved in the battle of Lexington and Concord, two local clubs. The Hacketts played for Lexington.37 The brothers still hoped for major-league jobs in 1890 and spent the winter working out at the Father Scurry Gymnasium in Cambridge.38

Morrill retired in 1890 and opened his own sporting goods shop on Bromfield Street in Boston known as John F. Morrill & Co. He organized a baseball team of the same name and brought the Hackett brothers on board. In 1891, Mertie took charge of the amateur Hyannis club on Cape Cod; in 1892, he played for a club in Northampton, Massachusetts.39

In 1893, Hackett became a police officer in Cambridge. For 27 years he patrolled the Magazine Street area, just blocks from Central Square, where he lived his entire life. Hackett finished his career as a clerk in the inspector’s office and for a time organized the police ball team. He retired in 1935 after 42 years at the age of 75 and was gifted a pipe from his fellow officers. An avid fisherman, he would often arise at 3 AM to go cast a few lines before heading to work. Some whalers in New Bedford named their sloop Mertie Hackett in his honor.40

In 1907, Hackett married Emma Elizabeth Shea, who lived just a few houses down from him on Mt. Auburn Street in Cambridge. She was the daughter of Timothy and Sabina (Connor) Shea. Timothy worked as a printer in the newspaper industry.

Mert Hackett died on February 22, 1938, at their home on Green Street in Cambridge at the age of 78. He is buried at St. Paul’s Cemetery in Arlington, Massachusetts. Emma survived him, as did seven nephews.41

Acknowledgments

This article was reviewed by Gregory H. Wolf and Rory Costello and checked for accuracy by SABR’s fact-checking team.

Sources

In addition to resources in the Notes, the author was assisted by the following:

Baseball-reference.com

Familysearch.org

Lamb, Bill, “Charlie Buffinton,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/d8ae3a0f, accessed July 4, 2024.

Lamb, Bill. “Jim Whitney,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jim-whitney/, accessed July 4, 2024.

Lamb, Bill, “Tom Gunning,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Tom-Gunning/,  accessed July 2, 2024.

Lent, Cassidy. A. Bartlett Giamatti Research Center, Baseball Hall of Fame

Morris, Peter. Game of Inches: The Story Behind the Innovations That Shaped Baseball. (Ivan R. Dee: Chicago, 2010).

Nemec, David. The Great Encyclopedia of 19th Century Major League Baseball. (Donald I. Fine: New York, 1997.

Retrosheet.org

SABR.org

Van Damme, Marieke, Cambridge Historical Society

Notes

1 “Kansas City’s Great Team,” The Sporting News, May 10, 1886: 1.

2 James C. O’Leary, “Made Baseball History in Early Eighties—In Last Place July 4th, in First at Finish,” Boston Globe, February 10, 1918: 44.

3 “Pitchers of the Past,” Washington Post, February 11, 1906: S3.

4 Tim Murnane, “Famous as a Pitcher,” Boston Globe, September 24, 1907: 5.

5 “‘Mert’ Hackett is Retired,” Boston Globe, February 28, 1935: 2

6 “Two Veteran Policeman are Retired in Cambridge,” Boston Globe, March 1, 1935: 4.

7 The Cambridge Directory for the Year 1873, 155; Boston Daily Transcript, April 28, 1862: 4.

8 “Base Ball,” Cambridge Chronicle, June 7, 1879: 4.

9 “Base Ball,” Boston Globe, October 22, 1882: 12.

10 “The Cowboy Team,” Kansas City Times, April 18, 1886: 9.

11 Ins and Outs,” Boston Globe, July 7, 1883: 4.

12 “Base Ball,” Boston Globe, August 15, 1883: 2.

13 “Almost beyond doubt,” Boston Globe, September 26, 1883: 5.

14 “That settles it,” Boston Globe, September 28, 1883: 4.

15 “Our Boys,” Boston Globe, October 1, 1883: 1.

16 “Bats and Balls,” Boston Globe, June 4, 1884: 4.

17 “Victory from Defeat,” Boston Globe, July 16, 1884: 2.

18 “To Play in Kansas City,” Boston Globe, March 9, 1886: 8.

19 “In-Shoots,” Boston Globe, October 18, 1884: 3.

20 “New Yorks 10, Bostons 3,” Boston Globe, June 18, 1885: 4; “Base Ball Briefs,” Boston Globe, March 11, 1885: 4; “Gossipy Gleanings,” Boston Globe, June 14, 1885: 3; “Hard Hitting,” Boston Globe, July 1, 1885: 2.

21 “Gossip,” Boston Globe, August 8, 1885: 2.

22 “One of the Best Batteries,” Boston Globe, December 1, 1885: 5.

23  “To Play in Kansas City,”

24 “The Cowboy Team,” Kansas City Times, April 18, 1886: 9.

25 “Chicago Has a Close Call,” Kansas City Times, July 25, 1886: 2.

26 “Base Ball Briefs,” Kansas City Times, September 11, 1886: 2.

27 “The Giants Have a Picnic,” Kansas City Times, September 28, 1886: 2.

28 “Will Remain in the League,” Indianapolis Journal, July 25, 1887: 5.

29 “Hackett Suspended and Denny Made Captain,” Indianapolis Journal, July 16, 1887: 3.

30 “Will Remain in the League.”

31 “Will Try to Secure Gilmore,” Indianapolis Journal, August 2, 1887: 3.

32 “A Lively Up-Hill Game,” Indianapolis Journal, October 7, 1887: 5.

33 “The Ball Club,” Indianapolis News, April 16, 1888: 1; “The Ball Players,” Indianapolis News, April 11, 1888: 2; “Base Ball Notes,” Indianapolis Journal, May 11, 1888: 3.

34 Tim Murnane, “Base Perambulators,” Boston Globe, March 17, 1889: 24.

35 “A Hard Earned Victory,” (Rochester, NY) Democrat & Chronicle, July 14, 1888: 7; “Sporting News,” Buffalo News, August 14, 1888: 12; “Sporting Briefs,” Buffalo Times, August 14, 1888: 4; “Touched Out,” Boston Herald, August 21, 1888: 5.

36 “Will Try Hackett,” Boston Globe, September 3, 1888: 8; “Foley’s Benefit,” Boston Globe, September 21, 1888: 5.

37 “Concords 2; Lexingtons 1,” Boston Globe, August 11, 1889: 4.

38 “Approach of the Season,” Boston Globe, March 30, 1890: 3.

39  “Morrill’s Team,” Boston Globe, March 17, 1890: 4; “Bold Hypnotizers,” Boston Globe, July 10, 1891: 3; “Base Ball Notes,” April 25, 1892: 3.

40 “‘Mert’ Hackett is Retired;” “Two Veteran Policeman are Retired in Cambridge;” “Big Blackfish Catch,” Boston Globe, July 17, 1913: 15.

41 “M.M. Hackett Passes Away,” Boston Globe, February 23, 1938: 9; Obituary from the Cambridge Chronicle, provided in Hackett’s Hall of Fame file.