Jim Devlin

To both his 19th century playing counterparts and today’s baseball historians, the name Jim Devlin resonates of scandal. The star pitcher for the Louisville Grays, Devlin – along with three teammates – was expelled from baseball for game-fixing during the 1877 National League pennant chase. For decades thereafter they served as the principals of a cautionary tale for players tempted to follow their example. This profile, however, focuses on an altogether different Jim Devlin, a long-forgotten southpaw hurler for several major league clubs in the late 1880s. Apart from playing position and ethnic background, our subject had little in common with his notorious namesake – save an untimely demise. Both men died prematurely at age 34. The story of the other Jim Devlin follows.1

James H. Devlin was born on April 16, 1866, in Lansingburgh, New York, a Hudson River town situated just north of Troy.2 He was the fourth of six children born to day laborer William Devlin (1828-1875) and his wife Ann (1830-1914), both Irish Catholic immigrants.3 Little is known of our subject’s early life except that, notwithstanding his father’s death while he was still a boy, Jim likely obtained the eighth-grade education typically afforded the children of recent arrivals.4 He then joined older brother Frank in the employ of a local brush manufacturer.5

During Devlin’s youth, his birthplace was a hotbed of baseball, home of the formidable Union Base Ball Club of Lansingburgh, nowadays often misidentified as the Troy Haymakers.6 In August 1869, the Unions held the Cincinnati Red Stockings to a 17-17 tie, the only blemish on the Reds’ celebrated 57-game winning streak.7 An undersized (5-foot-7, 135-pound) left-handed batter and thrower, Devlin began his playing days as a pitcher-outfielder on local amateur clubs. He entered the professional ranks as a 20-year-old in April 1886, signing with the Troy Trojans of the Hudson River League.8 Weeks thereafter, Devlin signed another contract, this one with the National League’s New York Giants.9 He soon found himself enveloped in controversy as Troy refused to relinquish its contract hold on the young prospect.

Because both the National League and the Hudson River League were signatories of the National Agreement, the Giants and the Trojans were bound to respect each other’s player contracts. In the instant case, Devlin’s contract with Troy predated his Giants pact and had been “approved by the registry of the Hudson River League … and published in Sporting Life.”10 On its face, therefore, Devlin seemed the property of the Troy club. To defeat the claim, New York asserted that “Troy failed to file the Devlin contract in the prescribed manner. New York had no notice of the Troy claim on Devlin. [The club] signed him in good faith on May 10 and filed the contract with National League President [Nick] Young.”11 Predictably taking the Giants’ side in the dispute, Young ordered Devlin to report to the Giants under pain of “expulsion and disqualification” from baseball should he fail to do so.12 But the youngster defied the edict, declaring that he would report to New York only if Troy club president Fitzgerald “was willing” to let Devlin go there. And Fitzgerald was not.13

While the controversy raged, partisans of both sides weighed in. Sporting Life published dueling broadsides from Hudson River League secretary Henry E. McKenzie14 and “Layman,” the weekly’s unidentified pro-Giants New York correspondent.15 Meanwhile, Devlin remained in Troy, pitching the HRL opener for the Trojans against Poughkeepsie on May 26. He took an 8-4 lead into the eighth inning, but then fell apart and suffered a 14-8 defeat.16

The terms of the settlement that ultimately put young Jim Devlin in New York livery are unknown. Whatever the particulars, by mid-June he was in the Giants fold and practicing under the tutelage of sore-armed veteran Larry Corcoran.17 On June 28, 1886, Devlin made his major league debut against the Kansas City Cowboys. With New York ahead, 12-2, in the top of the eighth inning, Giants captain John Montgomery Ward sent the new recruit into the box to spell staff ace Tim Keefe. It was not an auspicious occasion. Understandably nervous, Devlin walked four batters, threw errantly on a pickoff attempt, added a wild pitch, and surrendered three base hits. The Giants defense chipped in an error and a passed ball. The result: five Kansas City runs, four earned. With the New York lead pared to 12-7, Ward stuck with Devlin in the ninth, and the youngster set the Cowboys down in order, closing out the game with a strikeout.18 Shortly after his uninspiring audition, Devlin was released by New York.19

After spending a month back home in Lansingburgh, Devlin received another professional chance, signed by the Syracuse Stars of the International Association.20 There, he notched a 2-4 record – unimpressive on the surface, but on the plus side, he completed all six of his starts, posting an eye-opening 1.05 ERA. This earned him “a high rank among Association pitchers.”21 Yet before the season was out, Devlin was suspended by Syracuse for “listless work in the box,”22 perhaps a veiled reference to shortcomings attributable to a hangover. Years afterward, future St. Louis Browns teammate Charlie Comiskey remarked that the pitcher “had a passion for mixed ale.”23 That remark, however, is the only allusion to Devlin having a drinking problem discovered during research for this profile. Whatever his sobriety situation, Devlin was signed that winter by manager Harry Wright of the National League’s Philadelphia Quakers for the 1887 season.24

Manager Wright had amply stocked his club’s pitching staff, and Devlin was overshadowed in spring training by Charlie Buffinton, Dan Casey, and Charlie Ferguson, each of whom would go on to win 20 or more games that season for the Quakers. Still, Devlin’s work was impressive enough for Wright to retain him and catcher Whitey Gibson as a spare battery, available for in-season exhibition games.25 To keep the pair sharp, however, they were “leased, not sold” to the Lynn (Massachusetts) Lions of the New England League.26

Pitching for a lousy club headed for a 40-64 (.385) finish, Devlin went 10-6 (.625) for Lynn, and was recalled by Philadelphia in mid-summer. Hampered by control problems (10 walks, combined), he fared poorly in two starts, losing to Pittsburgh (10-3 on July 30) and Detroit (9-6 on August 3). The “pony battery of Devlin and Gibson showed up well” in a late-August in-season 8-7 exhibition game victory over the Detroit Wolverines.27 Several days later, though, “they did a poor job” in an exhibition game loss to the Chicago White Stockings.28 Immediately thereafter, Devlin, Gibson, and two others were cut from the Philadelphia roster.29

Devlin finished the 1887 season with the Ashland club of the Central Pennsylvania League. In his debut, he impressed the locals, “twirl[ing] in magnificent style” during a 6-2 win over Hazelton. “He has tremendous speed and his curves are very deceptive,” reported the Hazelton Sentinel.30 Two weeks later, Devlin was signed by the St. Louis Browns of the major league American Association.31 However, it was uncertain whether club owner Chris Von der Ahe intended Devlin for his Browns or for the St. Louis Whites, a fledgling Von der Ahe team earmarked for the minor Western Association.32 Whichever the case, Devlin’s salary, always a sticking point with the pitcher, was reportedly set at $1,500.33

The St. Louis Browns were the American Association’s dominant ball club, having won three consecutive pennants. But over the winter of 1887-1888, the Browns lost hurling mainstays Bob Caruthers and Dave Foutz to Brooklyn, creating openings on the pitching staff. Bolstered by an impressive inter-squad spring outing against the Whites, Devlin made the big club, and got an early season start, dropping a 10-inning, 4-3 decision to Cincinnati on April 24. Three weeks later, he registered his first major league victory, spacing seven hits in a route-going 4-2 win over Kansas City.

During the ensuing two months, first baseman-manager Charlie Comiskey spelled staff stalwarts Silver King and Nat Hudson by using Devlin. As a spot starter, he pitched creditably, winning four of six decisions. His best effort was a two-hitter thrown at Cleveland on June 30. But after notching an 18-5 win over Kansas City in mid-July, Devlin fell ill and was out of action for the next nine weeks.34 In his absence, Comiskey went exclusively with his two workhorses. And when Hudson encountered arm problems, St. Louis acquired Ice Box Chamberlain to take his place in the rotation. After being out of action for 35 games, Devlin returned on October 2 and promptly threw a four-hit 8-1 win at Kansas City.. Two late-season defeats brought Devlin’s final record to 6-5 (.545); he completed 10 of 11 starting assignments, posting a 3.19 ERA in 90+ innings pitched. A capable contact hitter, Jim helped his own cause with a .297 batting average (11-for-37). The Browns, meanwhile, became AA titleholders for a fourth consecutive season with a superb record of 92-43-2 (.681).

At season’s end, St. Louis geared up for a best-of-10 World Series against the National League champion New York Giants. They had to do so without the services of Nat Hudson (25-10), who refused to report after an arm rehab trip to Hot Springs.35 Browns manager Comiskey passed over replacement candidates Devlin and Ed Knouff (5-4), settling instead on a two-man Series rotation of King (45-20) and Chamberlain (11-2). An 11-3 Giants win in Game Eight cinched the laurels for New York, but the clubs played the final two scheduled contests anyway. In Game Nine, Devlin relieved a battered King in the fourth inning and emerged the winning pitcher when the Browns rallied for a 14-11 victory in 10 frames.36 Having proved a useful staff member when available, Devlin was reserved by St. Louis for the 1889 season.37

Strangely, Von der Ahe did not send a contract to Devlin the following spring. As the 1889 season opened, the pitcher remained at home. Finally, an anxious Devlin wired the club boss: “Will sign for $1300, with $100 advance.”38 Before the month was out, Devlin and the club had come to terms.39 The left-hander began the campaign with a superb two-hit, 10-inning victory over Louisville, 3-2. Two days later, Devlin pitched a strong five innings in another start against Louisville but had to be relieved in the sixth when he began to experience arm pain. He was used only sparingly after that, losing his final start to Philadelphia, 11-2, on June 17. In the meantime, Jack Stivetts had emerged as a reliable backup for rotation regulars King and Chamberlain. That made the tender-armed Devlin expendable, his solid stats (5-3, 2.40 ERA) notwithstanding. He was released to the Minneapolis Millers of the Western Association in early July,40

Jim Devlin’s major league career was over at age 23. In 23 games overall, he posted an 11-10 (.524) record, with a respectable 3.38 ERA in 170 1/3 innings pitched. Over that span, he allowed 161 base hits (yielding a .250 OBA), striking out 90 while issuing 58 walks. Devlin was also a competent batsman, posting a .257 BA in 70 at-bats – albeit powerless (only one extra-base hit).

Devlin lost his Minneapolis debut, dropping a 5-4 decision to Milwaukee on July 7.41 Soon, he and manager Sam Morton were embroiled in an argument about money. Devlin wanted $250 of the purchase price paid to St. Louis for his release and became disenchanted with Minneapolis when he did not get it.42 Morton, for his part, became less than enthralled with Devlin’s mediocre pitching, and released him in early August.43 Within days thereafter, the young left-hander signed with a Western Association rival, the St. Joseph (Missouri) Clay Eaters.44 With his new club, Devlin’s attitude quickly improved. But his performance was wanting. Pitching for a poor team headed for a 41-70 (.369) seventh-place finish, Devlin’s numbers were worse: 4-11 (.267).45 Nevertheless, he was reserved by St. Joseph for the 1890 season.46

By means undiscovered, Devlin’s services were acquired by yet another Western Association club over the winter, the Sioux City (Iowa) Corn Huskers.47 Yeoman work demonstrated that Devlin’s arm was fully recovered, but again his performance was underwhelming. In 36 games for a Sioux City team that otherwise had a winning log, Devlin posted a record in the vicinity of 8-19 (.296), albeit with a fine 2.11 ERA.48 At season’s end, his name appeared on the Sioux City reserve list,49 but he was released by the Corn Huskers the following spring.50

Cast adrift, Devlin played for a semipro club in Lansingburgh51 before signing with the nearby Albany Senators of the Eastern Association. There, he rebounded from his worst professional season by having his best. For his new club, Devlin went 26-14, with a 1.91 ERA in 368 innings. In the process, he achieved professional career highs in wins and winning percentage (.650). He began the 1892 season with the Philadelphia Athletics of the newly organized Eastern League52 and went 6-7 before the floundering (12-26, .316) club disbanded on June 19. Devlin then returned to Albany, also by then a member of the EL.53 He finished the campaign with the Binghamton (New York) Bingos, for whom he clinched a postseason playoff berth with a late-September six-hit shutout.54 Combined, Devlin posted a 22-21 Eastern League record, with a stingy 1.79 ERA in 391 1/3 innings pitched.

Devlin returned to Troy, the site of his professional debut, for the 1893 season. Newly instituted rule changes installed the modern pitching distance of 60 feet, six inches, and eliminated the pitcher’s box. Yet these had no detrimental effect on the little left-hander. He notched his third consecutive 20-win season in the Eastern League, going 21-15 for the Trojans, with a 2.81 ERA in over 300 innings pitched.

Although still only 28, Devlin had thrown over 1,100 innings during the previous three seasons. But before the toll taken on his arm could be assayed, the near-annual disagreement about salary had to be resolved. In late May, Devlin and Troy club management were still at loggerheads, with the pitcher declaring that he would not get into uniform “until his demands as to salary are complied with.”55 Shortly thereafter, the Providence Clamdiggers obtained the rights to Devlin, but could not satisfy his wage demands, either.56 Eventually, he toed the slab for Troy, going 4-2 in seven games57 before the club disbanded in late July.58 Thereafter, a one-game audition for the Pottsville Colts of the Pennsylvania State League went poorly. Devlin was shelled for eight earned runs in less than three innings. In the end, the year was pretty much a waste for him.

The underactivity of the 1894 season had disguised the fact that Devlin’s abilities were by then in decline – but that soon became apparent. He started the 1895 campaign with the Allentown Goobers, another Pennsylvania State League club, but was dropped after losing two early season starts.59 After haggling about salary, Devlin joined the Amsterdam Red Stockings of the New York State League, posting a 2-3 record before the circuit went under in early July.60 Devlin remained home until the following July, when he pitched a few games and played some outfield for an unaffiliated club in Montreal.61 He completed his time in Organized Baseball with a brief pitching turn for the London (Ontario) Cockneys of the independent Canadian League. Devlin posted complete-game victories in both his starts but was released when club management determined that “they cannot afford to keep 12 men on the payroll.”62

Unmarried, Jim Devlin spent the remainder of his short life back home in Lansingburgh, living with his mother and two bachelor brothers. He found work as a salesman for a local cigar manufacturer;63 he may also have served as a court officer at the county courthouse.64 In his free time, he was active with an amateur dramatic society, involved in the organization of a fledgling local minor league ball club, and a member of the Knights of Columbus.65

In late 1900, Devlin contracted typhoid. In time, complications set in, and he died at home on the evening of December 18.66 James H. Devlin was 34.67 Following a Requiem Mass, his remains were interred in the Devlin family plot at St. John’s Cemetery, Lansingburgh.

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and Norman Macht and fact checked by Paul Proia.

Sources

Sources for the biographical information contained herein include the Jim Devlin profile by David Nemec in Major League Baseball Profiles, 1871-1900, Vol. 1 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2012); US and New York State census records accessed via Ancestry.com; and certain of the newspaper articles cited in the endnotes. Unless otherwise specified, stats have been taken from Baseball-Reference.

Notes

1 James Alexander Devlin (1849-1883) and our subject James H. Devlin (1866-1900) are to be distinguished from James Raymond Devlin (1922-2004), a one-game catcher for the 1944 Cleveland Indians.

2 Modern baseball authority list Troy as the birthplace of Jim Devlin, but this is incorrect. Until its annexation by the City of Troy on January 1, 1901, the adjoining Town (formerly Village) of Lansingburgh was a municipality separate and distinct from Troy. And to this day, Lansingburgh maintains its identity via its own Lansingburgh post office, ZIP code, high school, and school district.

3 The other Devlin children were William, Jr. (born 1858), Andrew (1861), Francis (1862), Catherine (1868), and Charles (1872).

4 The 1880 US Census lists 14-year-old James as still “at school.”

5 As reported in “The Sporting World,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 16, 1886: 3, and reflected in various 1890s Troy city directories (which also included residents of adjoining Lansingburgh).

6 The confusion of the 1869 Unions of Lansingburgh and the 1871-1872 Troy Haymakers of the National Association is regretted by noted 19-century baseball historian Peter Morris in Base Ball Pioneers, 1850-1870: The Clubs and Players Who Spread the Sport Nationwide (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2012), 53.

7 With the score knotted in the sixth inning, Cincinnati was declared the winner by forfeit when the Unions left the field after an umpire decision went against them. The National Association of Base Ball Players later ruled the game a 17-17 tie. For more, see Greg Rhodes, “Unbeaten but Tied” in Inventing Baseball: The 100 Greatest Games of the Nineteenth Century, Bill Felber, ed. (Phoenix: SABR, 2013), 65-67.

8 As reported in “Notes and Comments,” Sporting Life, May 5, 1886: 5. Another report had Devlin signing the Troy contract on April 16, 1886, his twentieth birthday. See “Base-Ball Notes,” Philadelphia Times, May 16, 1886: 10.

9 As reported in “Uniform Playing Rules,” Sporting Life, May 19, 1886: 1.

10 Per “A Squabble with New York,” Sporting Life, May 19, 1886: 1.

11 See “The Devlin Case,” Sporting Life, May 26, 1886: 1.

12 Same as above. See also, “The Sporting World,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 26, 1886: 5.

13 As reported in “Base Ball Notes,” New York Sun, May 14, 1886: 4. See also, “Around the Bases,” Boston Herald, May 18, 1886: 5.

14 “The Devlin Case,” Sporting Life, June 9, 1886: 1

15 “New York News,” Sporting Life, June 16, 1886: 1.

16 As reported in “Base Ball,” Poughkeepsie (New York) Eagle, May 27, 1886: 3. This published game account with its explicit identification of the Troy hurler as “Devlin, the great pitcher whom the New York club has been so persistently trying to get” refutes contemporaneous reportage that had Devlin practicing with the Giants at the Polo Grounds. See e.g., “Base Ball Notes,” New York Sun, May 23, 1886: 8.

17 Per “Base Ball Notes,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 21, 1886: 6, and June 17, 1886: 3.

18 Per the game account and box score published in the Kansas City Times, June 29, 1886: 8.

19 See “Base Ball Notes,” New York Sun, July 10, 1886: 4.

20 Per “Notes and Comments,” (Rochester) Democrat and Chronicle, August 14, 1886: 7.

21 “Local News,” Sporting Life, February 2, 1887: 2.

22 Per “The Stars New Men,” The Sporting News, September 20, 1886: 1. See also, “Around the Bases,” Boston Herald, September 20, 1886: 5.

23 According to 19th century baseball historian David Nemec in Major League Player Profiles, 1871-1900, Vol. 1 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2011), 48.

24 See again, “Local News,” Sporting Life, February 2, 1887: 2. See also, “Base-Ball Notes,” Cleveland Leader, February 6, 1887: 9; “Sporting Gossip of the Week,” Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican, February 6, 1887: 3.

25 Per “Base-Ball Notes,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 18, 1887: 3. See also, “Baseball,” Aberdeen (South Dakota) News, May 15, 1887: 4.

26 See “Base-Ball Notes,” Indianapolis Journal, June 4, 1887: 6; “Notes of the Game,” New Haven (Connecticut) Register, June 1, 1887: 3.

27 “Scores of Saturday,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 29, 1887: 3.

28 Per “An Exhibition Game,” Cleveland Leader, September 3, 1887: 3.

29 “Around the Bases,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 5, 1887: 3.

30 “Running the Bases,” Hazelton (Pennsylvania) Sentinel, September 14, 1887: 7.

31 As reported in “Sporting Gossip of the Game,” Springfield Republican, October 9, 1887: 3, and “Diamond Notes,” Cleveland Leader, September 29, 1887: 3.

32 See “Sporting News and Gossip,” Milwaukee Journal, November 15, 1887: 1; “Diamond Dust,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, October 2, 1887: 11.

33 Per “Diamond Dust,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 21, 1887: 8. The previous April, a Savannah ball club’s attempt to sign Devlin had been abandoned when he “wanted nearly as much salary as the Governor of Georgia receives,” per “Base-Ball Notes,” Cleveland Leader, April 15, 1887: 3, citing the Philadelphia Press. Money was also a problem for Devlin at season end. The Ashland club disbanded with salary owed its players left unpaid. Due $70 and refusing a settlement offer of $20, Devlin was then in the process of suing the erstwhile Ashland club directors. See “Baseball Catches,” Hazelton Sentinel, October 4, 1887: 4.

34 Devlin showed no improvement in late August, it being reported that “pitcher Devlin is still under the weather and he will not be able to pitch for several weeks to come. He looks thin and bleached.” Joe Pritchard, “St. Louis Siftings,” Sporting Life, August 22, 1888: 7.

35 Hudson had spent September resting his ailing arm at a Hot Springs spa but begged off returning to St. Louis for the World Series because “I am in no condition to play after bathing so much.” Letter of Hudson to St. Louis club owner Chris Von der Ahe, re-published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 27, 1888: 5, and elsewhere.

36 The superfluous contest drew a paltry 711 paid admissions. St. Louis won the meaningless Game Ten as well, 18-7, before only 411 spectators.

37 Per “The Association Reserves,” Sporting Life, October 24, 1888: 1.

38 “Devlin Ready to Sign,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 14, 1889: 21. See also, “Gossip of the Game,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 14, 1889: 8: “Should they need Devlin’s services they can at any time procure them, as he is under reserve and has not been signed merely because Mr. Von der Ahe does not think well enough of his pitching.”

39 Per “Devlin Here,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 24, 1889: 8.

40 As subsequently reported in “Diamond Flashes,” Minneapolis Journal, July 14, 1889: 12.

41 See “Two Games for Milwaukee,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 8, 1889: 8.

42 Per “Devlin Signed,” St. Joseph (Missouri) Herald, August 9, 1889: 5.

43 Per “Devlin Released,” Minneapolis Tribune, August 4, 1889: 2.

44 See again, “Devlin Signed,” above. See also, “Baseball Briefs,” Minneapolis Tribune, August 11, 1889: 10; “Royally Received,” St. Joseph (Missouri) Gazette, August 9, 1889: 7.

45 As calculated by the writer from published St. Joseph box/line scores. Baseball-Reference provides no stats for Devlin’s time in the 1889 Western Association.

46 Per “The Western Reserves,” Sioux City (Iowa) Journal, October 5, 1889: 9.

47 See “Corn Huskers for 1890,” Sioux City Journal, January 25, 1890: 2.

4848] Devlin’s won-loss record was calculated by the writer from available Sioux City box/line scores. His games pitched and ERA were taken from WA pitching stats published in the Chicago Inter-Ocean, October 19, 1890: 10 (which did not provide won-loss totals). As with his 1890 minor league tour, Baseball-Reference provides no data for Devlin’s season with Sioux City in 1891.

49 Per “The Reserve List,” Sporting Life, October 25, 1890: 1.

50 See “Western Contracts,” Omaha World-Herald, March 10, 1891: 1.

51 Devlin was in the lineup for Lansingburgh during a three-game series against the University of Vermont baseball team in mid-April. See “U.V.M. Notes,” Morrisville (Vermont) News and Citizen, April 23, 1891: 4.

52 Devlin was assigned to Philadelphia during the player dispersion portion of the Eastern League’s organizational meeting. See “The Players Assigned,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 7, 1892: 3.

53 Devlin went to Albany in the reassignment of players from the defunct Philadelphia club. See “On a Better Basis,” Sporting Life, June 25, 1892: 1.

54 Binghamton went on to capture the Eastern League crown with a six-game playoff series triumph over the Providence Clamdiggers.

55 Per “Baseball Briefs,” Erie (Pennsylvania) Times, May 28, 1894: 5.

56 As reported in “Grays Getting There,” Sporting Life, June 9, 1894: 5. See also, “Base Ball Briefs,” Providence Evening Bulletin, May 29, 1894: 8.

57 As calculated by the writer from Troy box/line scores. Baseball-Reference provides no 1894 stats for Devlin.

58 In early August, the Scranton Indians of the Pennsylvania State League took Troy’s place in Eastern League ranks, but Devlin never pitched for Scranton.

59 As reported in “Pirates Were Easy,” Allentown (Pennsylvania) Morning Call, June 1, 1895: 1. Baseball-Reference mistakenly gives Devlin an 0-1 record with Allentown. He also played three games in the Allentown outfield.

60 Devlin’s engagement by Amsterdam was noted in “Peters’ Pointers,” Sporting Life, June 29, 1895: 11. His Amsterdam record was extracted from Amsterdam box/line scores, as Devlin’s time with the Red Stockings is not included in his Baseball-Reference entry.

61 Devlin’s time with the Montreal club is memorialized in reportage published in the Montreal Gazette during July-August 1896.

62 Per “Sporting Chat,” Buffalo Evening News, July 27, 1897: 6.

63 Per the Devlin obituaries published in the Cincinnati Inquirer and Troy Times.

64 See Bill Lee, The Baseball Necrology (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2003), 102.

65 According to “Death of a Ball Player,” Troy Times, December 19, 1900: 6.

66 Typhoid pneumonia was cited as the cause of death in certain press accounts of Devlin’s passing.

67 Sad to say, brother Andrew (1861-1931) was the only Devlin sibling to reach age 35.