Eddie Eayrs

Once a coveted young left-handed pitching prospect, Eddie Eayrs was nearly 30 when he finally received some regular major league playing time with the 1920 Boston Braves. Always a good contact hitter, Eayrs promptly capitalized on outfield assignments accorded him by manager George Stallings, and by season’s end he led Braves batsmen in batting average by a wide margin. The arrival of new Boston field leader Fred Mitchell the following spring just as quickly signaled the end of Eayrs’ big league playing days. Eddie spent the season on the bench as a rarely used lefty pinch-hitter until he was waived in late August. An eight-game stint with the Brooklyn Robins followed by six productive campaigns in the high minors completed Eayrs’ professional career. An account of the life and often frustrating times of this now long-forgotten pitcher-outfielder follows.

Edwin Eayrs was born on November 10, 1890, in Blackstone, Massachusetts, a quiet river town situated near the border with Rhode Island. He was the youngest of eight children born to Walter F. Eayrs (1850-1916), originally a cabinet maker who emigrated from England, and his Rhode Island-native wife Margaret (née Waterhouse, 1852-1922).1 Eayrs (pronounced Airs) is a Scottish surname of Norse origin.

When Eddie was still a boy, the family relocated to Providence, the Ocean State capital that he would call home for the remainder of his life. There, father Walter secured employment as an agent for an iron foundry, an amply paid position that allowed him to raise his younger offspring in some comfort. Eddie grew up in a spacious five-bedroom/two-bath house on the city’s east side and received the benefit of extensive schooling.2

Although only 5-foot-7 and then around 150 pounds,3 Eayrs was a rugged three-sport athlete (football, ice hockey, baseball) at Hope Street High School in Providence. He first attracted press attention as a 15-year-old freshman, playing outfield for Hope High. As an underclassman Eddie also took the mound on occasion, forming a battery with older brothers Dick (in 1906) and Fred (1907-1908).4 After batting .344 in his junior year, Eayrs was selected to the Interscholastic League all-star team. The Providence Evening Bulletin declared, “little ‘Eddie’ Eayrs of Hope is far and away the best outfielder in the league … [and] the most timely hitter.”5 He was also a standout in the Providence Amateur League, pitching for a club called the Pikes.6

But the high school gridiron was where Eddie Eayrs first received true acclaim. Although a clever signal caller and swift running quarterback, Eayrs’ left leg was the key to success for Hope High in the often low-scoring, field-position football of the day. On successive weekends, Eddie’s punting and drop-kicking proved the difference in championship contests. First, his 30-yard field goal provided the only scoring in a 4-0 victory over Pawtucket High School that gave Hope the 1908 Rhode Island state title.7 A week later, he faced a Waltham (Massachusetts) High School eleven that had not lost a game since 1905 for the schoolboy championship of New England – and history repeated itself. Another Eayrs field goal proved the difference in a 4-0 Hope triumph. After the game the press proclaimed Eayrs “one of the greatest schoolboy generals who ever played the game,”8 “the best high school quarterback in New England,”9 and “without doubt the best all-around quarterback who ever represented any local school.”10

In spring 1909 Eayrs returned to the diamond and hurled Hope to the championship of the Inter-Scholastic League, striking out 12 in a title-clinching 11-1 win over Woonsocket High.11 But in the state championship contest against Westerly High, he lost control of both his pitches and his emotions – “enraged at many poor decisions,” Eddie was temporarily ejected after throwing his glove at the umpire. However, he was permitted to finish the game, which Hope lost, 5-1.12

Eayrs did not return to Hope for his senior year, transferring to Morris Heights School, an exclusive Providence prep academy, where he captained the football team in the fall and starred on the baseball field the following spring. He kept it up that summer, pitching the Valley Falls club to the championship of the semipro Inter-City League; he was thereafter selected to the circuit all-star nine by the Evening Bulletin.13 Returning to Morris Heights for a postgraduate year as a 20-year-old, Eayrs began to attract major league attention while pitching prep school, amateur, and semipro ball in 1911.14 But he refused “liberal offers” from various National and American League clubs.15 Instead he returned to Morris Heights that fall for yet another year of postgraduate study (although it seems unlikely that Eayrs spent much, if any, time in the classroom). He followed that with a spring-summer 1912 round of prep school, amateur, and semipro ballplaying, highlighted by leading the Inter-City League in batting.16 Along the way, more major league contract offers were rejected.17

In September 1912 Eayrs enrolled in Brown University, an elite collegiate institution located in Providence. The following spring, he became the pitching mainstay of a Bears varsity team that posted an outstanding 17-3 record. Lacking overpowering speed, Eayrs relied on a variety of breaking pitches to befuddle enemy hitters. He notched a win over Tufts in his Brown debut and then restimulated major league interest by throwing a stunning nine-strikeout, five-hit shutout at the Providence Grays of the Class AA International League. Eddie also added three base hits to a 7-0 Brown victory.18 In his next outing, Eayrs set down Princeton on four hits, fanning 14 Tigers batsmen in the process.19 Well-pitched defeats by Yale (twice) and Holy Cross were the only blemishes on his 7-3 pitching log. And when not on the mound, the good-hitting freshman played right field for the Bears.

At the conclusion of the Brown season, Eayrs entered the professional ranks, signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates.20 Certain press reports asserted that “Eayrs is to receive a big bonus for joining the Pirates and a very fine salary,” and that he was to remain on the Pittsburgh roster for the remainder of the season “even if he fails to win a regular berth.”21 That purported contract provision made sense to Brown coach Harry Pattee, who maintained that if Eayrs did not pan out as a pitcher, the Pirates would “convert him into an outfielder because of his great hitting ability and speed.”22

On June 30, 1913, Eddie Eayrs made his debut in the big leagues, coming on in relief at the West Side Grounds in Chicago with the Pirates hopelessly trailing the Chicago Cubs, 10-2. Over four frames, the newcomer surrendered five base hits and five walks but registered four strikeouts and held the opposition to two runs. He also legged out an infield single in his only at-bat. The following day, the press consensus was that Eayrs had “pitched a fairly good game” in his maiden outing.23 Two unsuccessful pinch-hitting appearances followed. On July 4 he went four innings in another relief outing and was charged with four unearned runs in a 12-8 Pittsburgh loss to St. Louis.

Despite the reputed non-farming provision in his contract, Eayrs was dispatched to the Columbus Senators of the Class AA American Association after having spent little more than a week in a Pittsburgh uniform. In exchange the Pirates received veteran right-hander George McQuillan.24 The move was reportedly designed to get Eayrs “some more experience,”25 with Pirates manager Fred Clarke intending to “recall him in the fall.”26 With Columbus, Eddie did nothing to diminish his status as a hot prospect. He added an effective slow ball to his pitch repertoire and, once over some arm stiffness, captured his final six decisions to finish 9-4 (.692) in 16 appearances for the fourth-place (93-74, .557) Senators. Eayrs also hit a blistering .373 (22-for-59), albeit with little power (only four extra-base hits).27

Although reportedly recalled by Pittsburgh over the winter,28 Eayrs returned to Columbus for the 1914 season.29 And there his career went into a prolonged stall. Periodically bothered by arm problems, he posted an undistinguished 11-9 (.550) pitching log for the Senators, with a 4.01 ERA – unsightly for the Deadball Era – in 182 innings. His stick work fell off dramatically as well, producing a tepid .226 (37-for 164) batting average that again included little power. Even so, Eayrs was reserved by Columbus for the following season30 – but fared even worse in 1915, starting the season 0-3 on the mound and batting an unproductive .240 (18-for-75).31 In early June he was given his unconditional release.32 Within days, however, the hometown Providence Grays of the Double-A International League came to the rescue, signing Eayrs as an outfielder.33

Eddie checked his downward career drift with the Grays, batting a respectable .272 in 54 games. He also resumed pitching, going 7-6 in 16 appearances. A fan favorite, Eayrs returned to Providence in 1916 and continued to rebuild his prospects. In 113 games he batted a solid .284 and showed a little power, smacking 22 extra-base hits that included his first home run as a professional. He also posted a 4-1 pitching record, with a sparkling 1.62 ERA in 11 outings.34 But those numbers regressed in 1917. His batting average fell to .244 in 87 games, while a 9-7 (.563) hurling mark included a disappointing setback suffered at home field Melrose Park on “Eddie Eayrs Day.”35

The disruption to baseball attending American entry into World War I was in full force by early 1918. As a consequence, the Providence Grays abandoned the Class AA International League and dropped down to the Eastern League, a Class B circuit. With Eddie Eayrs assuming the post of player-manager, the third-place Grays record stood at a competitive 34-22 (.607) when the league suspended play on July 22. Meanwhile, a .355 (67-for-189) average garnered club skipper Eayrs the EL batting crown.36 Immediately thereafter he reported for duty at the naval station in Newport, Rhode Island, where he contributed to the war effort by serving as playing manager of the base’s crack baseball team.37

Mustered out of the Navy in early 1919, Eayrs returned to his post as Providence’s playing manager; the Eastern League was elevated to Class A.38 The season proved a near-repeat of the last, with the Eayrs-led Grays finishing a close third (61-45, .575) in final EL standings while the squad’s field leader hit .331 and encored as circuit batting champion.39 Over the winter the Providence club disbanded, making Eayrs a free agent. Early press reports had him headed for high minor league teams in Toronto, Hartford, or Milwaukee.40 But Eddie had his sights set higher, and in late February 1920 he returned to the majors, signing with the Boston Braves.41

Eayrs was joining a Braves club six seasons removed from its “miracle” World Series triumph of 1914 and headed toward the lower ranks of National League standings. Although Eayrs had been engaged as an outfielder, Boston manager George Stallings tinkered with returning him to full-time mound duty during spring training, particularly after Eddie posted a complete-game 4-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers in late March.42 Still, it was something of a surprise when Stallings bypassed staff stalwart Dick Rudolph and handed Eayrs the ball for the 1920 season opener against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. To the dismay of “22,000 of New York’s most prominent, socially, politically, and sportively … Eayrs was the hero of the game,” holding the Giants scoreless over the first seven frames.43 He also singled and scored a run. With ninth-inning relief help from Hugh McQuillan, Eddie posted a 6-3 win.

Thereafter, a contract dispute – Eayrs maintained that he had signed as an outfielder and wanted a bonus for pitching – kept him off the mound for the next month.44 During that period, he was confined to occasional pinch-hitting assignments, going 3-for-4. Eayrs returned to pitching on May 21 and was clobbered for 15 base hits over five innings in a 9-0 loss to Pittsburgh. The following week, manager Stallings juggled his lineup and placed the good-hitting hurler in left field for a game against Brooklyn at Ebbets Field – with eye-catching results. Eayrs “made three spectacular catches at various stages of the fray and slammed out a home run in the ninth with two men on the bases.” That blast, “a tremendous smash to the center field exit gate,” spelled the ultimate difference in a 6-3 Boston win.45 In the second game of a doubleheader against the Robins the following day, Eddie went 2-for-5 with a run scored and errorless left field defense in a 10-inning loss, 5-4.

The fluid nature of Eayrs’ situation is best illustrated by a doubleheader played in Philadelphia on May 31. In the opener he played left field and went 3-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI in a 4-1 victory. He then started the nightcap, throwing a creditable seven innings. An unearned run cost him a 3-2 loss.

Used only sparingly in relief after that, Eayrs gradually became a semi-regular in left field, particularly against right-handed pitching. And he continued hitting at a torrid pace. By late July his batting average stood at a scintillating .406 (although he lacked the requisite at-bats to qualify for league leadership).46 A month later, a pregame collision with a concrete stadium wall at West Side Park in Chicago rendered Eayrs “unconscious for quite a time” and left him with a head gash that required stitches.47 But several days later he was back in the lineup.

As late as mid-September Eayrs’ batting average stood at .358. But over his final 15 games, a 12-for-57 (.211) swoon dropped his season-ending mark to .328 (80-for-244) in 87 games. Still, that was easily the highest batting average posted by a Braves player,48 and the seventh-highest among all batsmen in the National League.49 So as he approached his 30th birthday, Eayrs had reason to feel confident that he had – at long last – established himself as a major league ballplayer. Yet unbeknownst to him, an event that soon imperiled that status was also near at hand: the resignation of George Stallings as Boston Braves manager.

From the vantage point of more than a century passed, there is no ready explanation for the way that Eddie Eayrs was treated by incoming Braves manager Fred Mitchell in 1921. Eayrs was not injured, ill, or in poor condition when Mitchell took over. Nor was he a drinker, complainer, or clubhouse lawyer. Rather, he was an amiable, low-key professional who had demonstrated his worth the previous season. On March 31, the Boston Post opined that Mitchell would be playing Eayrs regularly in left field because of his bat, but also noted that “Eddie does not cover a great deal of territory, nor does he run the bases particularly well.”50 But when the lefty-hitting outfield that the new skipper preferred – Billy Southworth (.308), Ray Powell (.306), and Walton Cruise (.346)51 – showed well in the early going, Eayrs became the odd man out. Left field was largely manned by a platoon of left-handed-hitting Walton Cruise and right-handed-hitting Fred Nicholson. Largely ignored by his manager, Eddie did not leave the dugout until he delivered a pinch-hit single in the Braves’ sixth game of the 1921 season. After that, and apart from two lost-cause relief pitching stints, he was restricted to highly infrequent pinch-hitting appearances over the next four-plus months.52 And despite having played 70 games in the Boston outfield the previous year, Eayrs did not play an inning in the field for Mitchell. When the Braves finally placed Eayrs on waivers in late August, the Braves’ best hitter of 1920 had amassed the grand total of one single in 15 at-bats.

Eayrs was quickly claimed by the Brooklyn Robins, with manager Wilbert Robinson intending to rehabilitate him as a pitcher.53 But there was nothing left in Eddie’s arm. As a result, his tour of duty with Brooklyn in September 1921 consisted of a handful of pinch-hitting appearances and two innings as a right fielder. For the season Eayrs batted a combined .095 (2-for-21). His name appeared on the Brooklyn reserved list for 1922,54 but in late December his contract was sold to the New Haven (Connecticut) Indians of the Eastern League.55 With that, Eddie Eayrs’ abbreviated time as a major leaguer had come to its end.

In parts of three seasons playing at the game’s highest level, Eayrs posted a .306 career batting average (83-for-271), but with little power. Just eight of his hits went for extra bases, and he knocked in only 26 runs in 114 game appearances. In the outfield, he was a tolerable defender (.950 fielding percentage in 64 games). But on the mound, he had been a bust. In 11 outings overall, his record was a negligible 1-2 (.333), with an inflated 6.23 ERA in 39 innings. Enemy batsmen compiled a robust .338 OBA, while 27 walks (as compared to only 13 strikeouts) also contributed to a poor 2.051 WHIP.

Following his demotion Eayrs spent the next six seasons posting good batting averages in the high minors, repeating as Eastern League batting champion in 1925. But he was no longer a major league prospect. Advancing age and his unimpressive physical stature weighed heavily against him. Perhaps more significantly, the arrival of Babe Ruth and the long-distance, lively ball era devalued singles hitters like Eddie Eayrs. Still he soldiered on. After batting .330 in 146 games for New Haven in 1922, Eayrs was engaged as player-manager by an EL rival, the Worcester Panthers.56 He lasted until early July, resigning his post with Worcester at 29-39 (.427), ensconced in seventh place.57 “The disposition of certain players to ‘lay down’ on Eddie Eayrs was responsible for Worcester’s failure,” in the judgment of The Sporting News.58 Whatever the case, the Panthers’ unsatisfactory record was not the fault of its manager’s play. At the time of his departure, Eayrs was leading the Eastern League in hitting at .402. He served out the year with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League, batting .296 in 66 games.

Eayrs returned to the Eastern League in 1924, rejoining New Haven. He was batting .304 when he broke an ankle sliding into third base in late July, finishing him for the season.59 A personal friend of Worcester club owner Albert H. Powell, Eddie had purportedly signed a three-year agreement with Powell in October 1922. With the contract still in place in late 1924, Powell decided to re-instate Eayrs as Worcester player-manager for 1925, replacing Jesse Burkett, who had replaced Eayrs as manager in 1923. Eayrs resisted the managerial assignment, preferring to serve only as a player, but apparently Powell convinced him to assume the dual role.60 The following May, however, he was deposed as skipper following the sale of the franchise to Casey Stengel.61 The new club owner promptly installed himself as club president, manager, and starting center fielder. Eayrs, relieved of dugout responsibilities, flourished playing for Stengel. Eddie finished the season hitting .357, capturing his third Eastern League batting title.62

Financially unstable, the Worcester team folded over the winter, again making Eayrs a free agent. In April 1926 he returned home, signing with the newly formed Providence Rubes.63 But his production fell off. In 116 games for an Eastern League pennant-winning club (97-55, .638), Eayrs’ batting average slipped to .291, with little power (only 14 extra-base hits).

In 1927 Eayrs played his 15th and final season in Organized Baseball with Providence, replacing Patsy Donovan as club manager in late June.64 Eayrs also acquired a part-ownership interest in the Grays (the club readopted its traditional nickname). Unhappily, Providence went from mediocre under Donovan (30-32, .484) to dismal under Eayrs (21-59, .263) and finished in the EL cellar. But as in Worcester, his play countered his charges’ slack performance. By then 36 years old, the outfielder-manager posted a club-best .320 batting average in 99 games.

Over the winter Eayrs divested himself of his club ownership interest, selling the cream of the Providence roster to New Haven.65 The lack of interest by other clubs in Eddie himself, however, brought his professional playing career to an end.

In close to 1,200 high minor league games, Eayrs had been an excellent contact hitter, posting a .312 career batting average. But he displayed little extra-base power. Arm miseries short-circuited his pitching hopes, but his 43-31 (.581) career mark was respectable. He had also been a positive presence in the clubhouse, well-liked by teammates, club management, and fans, particularly in hometown Providence. Regrettably, his laid-back demeanor and a reluctance to discipline players undermined him as a manager. At the helm in Providence and Worcester for parts of five seasons, Eayrs compiled a losing 154-181 (.460) mark, despite being an astute baseball man.66

In his playing days, Eayrs worked during offseasons for a Providence insurance/real estate agency. He continued that employment after he left the Grays. He played semipro ball on weekends, but a professional comeback attempt was aborted after the New Haven Profs cut him early in the 1929 season.67 During the ensuing Great Depression, he assumed the risky job of managing a Providence stock brokerage.

Eayrs returned to the game at the outset of World War II, serving as head coach of the Brown University team. But handicapped by cold weather, an abbreviated playing schedule, and little playing talent, the Bears went a wretched 22-57-1 (.281) during his tenure of seven springs. He completed his working life as a parimutuel clerk at Narragansett Racetrack.68 The last discovered press mention of Eddie Eayrs was published when he attended a 50th anniversary celebration of the Hope Street High School football champions of 1908.69

In late November 1969, Eayrs was admitted to Kent County Memorial Hospital in Warwick, Rhode Island, suffering from uremia. He died there on November 30 at age 79.70 Following funeral services, his remains were interred in the family plot at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence. Never married and without children, the deceased’s only immediate survivor was his older brother (and high school batterymate) Dick Eayrs.

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and Rick Zucker and fact-checked by Sam Cowan.

Sources

Sources for the biographical info provided above include the Eddie Eayrs file with player questionnaire maintained at the Giamatti Research Center, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, New York; US and Rhode Island census data and Providence city directory entries 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 Eddie’s older siblings were twins Walter and Weston (born 1873), Mary (1876), Rachel (1879), Annie (1884), Richard (1886), and Frederick (1888).

2 Located at 220 Camp Street, the former Eayrs residence remains standing and was recently assessed a value of $563,100 by real estate appraiser Zillow.

3 Present-day baseball reference works list Eayrs’ major league playing weight as 160 pounds, but contemporary evidence suggests that he was heavier. His TSN player contract card lists Eayrs’ weight as 180 pounds, and sportswriters who saw Eddie in action often used adjectives like chunky, stocky, or pudgy to describe him.

4 All three Eayrs brothers saw action in an early 1906 loss, per the game account and box score published in “Moses Brown 7, Hope 4,” Providence Evening Bulletin, April 27, 1906: 19.

5 “All-Star Team Selected,” Providence Evening Bulletin, June 13, 1908: 13.

6 See e.g., “Amateur League Gossip,” Providence Evening Bulletin, June 1, 1908: 14: “Eddie Eayrs, star twirler of the Pikes, has all the earmarks of a comer … [and] great things are expected of him before the season is over.”

7 Although Eayrs was blessed with a strong left arm, New England high school rules then prohibited forward passes beyond the line of scrimmage and Eayrs attempted none against Pawtucket High. Rather, it was Eddie’s running and punting that allowed Hope to control the game until his late-game four-point field won it.

8 “Waltham Beaten at Last,” Boston Herald, November 29, 1908: 13.

9 “Hope High Gains New England Title,” Pawtucket (Rhode Island) Evening Times, November 30, 1908: 2.

10 “Eayrs Elected Captain,” Providence Evening Bulletin, December 29, 1908: 10, announcing Eayrs selection as captain of the Hope High football team for the 1909 campaign.

11 “Honors in School League Won Again by Hope High Nine,” Providence Evening Bulletin, June 19, 1909: 12.

12 “Westerly Gets Title; Beats Hope High, 5-1,” Providence Evening Bulletin, June 29, 1909: 12.

13 “All-Star Inter-City League Team Picked,” Providence Evening Bulletin, September 10, 1910: 16.

14 “Live Wires of Sport,” Pawtucket Evening Times, June 12, 1911: 3, with the Philadelphia A’s showing particular interest in Eayrs.

15 “Eayrs Refuses Offers from 5 Big League Clubs,” Providence Evening Bulletin, September 12, 1911: 15. The rejected suitors were identified as the Philadelphia A’s, Chicago White Sox, New York Highlanders, Cleveland Naps, and Cincinnati Reds.

16 “Eayrs Tops League Batters with .370,” Pawtucket Evening Times, October 12, 1912: 2.

17 “Notes of School Sports,” Boston Globe, April 1, 1912: 15. Eayrs reportedly spurned contract overtures extended by the Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Naps.

18 “Too Much Eddie Eayrs Trims Grays; Portside Twirlers Has Donovan’s Men Standing on Heads; Brown Wins, 7-0,” Providence Evening Bulletin, April 16, 1913: 17, which related that “the Grays simply couldn’t fathom the bewildering assortment of hooks dished out by the stocky little left-hander … [and that Eayrs used] a curveball on practically every pitch.”

19 “Tiger Team Beaten Badly by Brown,” Trenton Evening Times, April 27, 1913: 11, which extolled the “great work on the mound by Eayrs, the Brown phenomenal southpaw.” Eddie also contributed two base-hits and two runs scored to the Brown cause.

20 “Brown Southpaw Signs to Twirl for Buccaneers,” Pittsburgh Post, June 19, 1913: 13; “Eddie Eayrs to Join Pittsburgh Club Next Week,” Providence Evening Bulletin, June 19, 1913: 17.

21 “College Star Joins the Pros,” Buffalo Commercial, June 24, 1913: 9; “Eddie Eayrs for Pirates in Few Days,” Fall River (Massachusetts) Globe, June 19, 1913: 6.

22 “Brown Southpaw Signs to Twirl for Buccaneers.”

23 See e.g., “Lavender Invincible,” Boston Globe, July 1, 1913: 7, which, like other published game accounts, misidentified the new Pittsburgh pitcher as Fred Eayrs.

24 “M’Quillan Added to Pirates Lineup,” Pittsburg Press, July 8, 1913: 20; “Pirates Get Pitcher M’Quillan from Columbus Club in Exchange,” Pittsburgh Post, July 8, 1913: 13. Little used Pirates right-hander Jack Ferry accompanied Eayrs to Columbus.

25 James Jerpe, “On and Off the Field,” Pittsburgh Gazette Times, July 8, 1913: 8.

26 “Pirates Send Eddie Eayrs to Columbus,” Pawtucket Evening Times, July 10, 1913: 16.

27 “Official American Association Batting Averages,” Columbus Evening Dispatch, December 18, 1913: 18. A typo in at-bats causes Baseball-Reference to miscalculate Eayrs BA as .449 (22-for-49) instead of .373 (22-for-59).

28 “Eayrs Is Recalled,” Washington (DC) Times, February 16, 1914: 12; “Sporting Gossip,” Providence Evening Bulletin, December 23, 1913: 15.

29 “Eayrs Goes Back to Columbus Club,” Pawtucket Evening Times, February 24, 1914: 6. And despite previous reports about Eayrs being recalled by Pittsburgh, he did not attend Pirates spring camp in 1914, according to the Providence Evening Bulletin, February 14, 1914: 8.

30 “The Reserves,” Sporting Life, October 24, 1914: 17.

31 According to club stats published in the Columbus Evening Dispatch, June 3, 1915. Baseball-Reference has no data for Eayrs’ 1915 stay in Columbus and erroneously places him with the American Association Louisville Colonels later in the season.

32 “Eddie Eayrs Canned,” Boston Herald, June 10, 1915: 5; “Pitcher Eayrs Released,” Salt Lake Telegram, June 10, 1915: 4.  

33 “Eayrs Is Now a Providence Outfielder,” Columbus Evening Dispatch, June 19, 1915: 7; “Baseball Briefs,” Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican, June 16, 1915: 12.

34 International League stats published in Sporting Life, December 9, 1916: 9; Providence Evening Bulletin, November 27, 1916: 25. Baseball-Reference provides no 1916 ERA figure for Eayrs.

35 “Bisons Take Fall Out of Grays in First Meeting,” Buffalo Enquirer, August 14, 1917: 11; “Presentation to Eddie Eayrs, Providence Player, at Melrose Park Yesterday,” Providence Evening Bulletin, August 14, 1917: 7. Eayrs was knocked out of the box early in an 8-7 loss to the Buffalo Bisons.

36 The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, eds. (Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, Inc., 3d ed, 2007), 270. See also, “Eayrs Led Eastern,” Stamford (Connecticut) Advocate, August 15, 1918: 7; “Eayrs Is Leading Eastern Batsman,” (New London, Connecticut) Evening Day, August 12, 1918: 8.

37 “Dave Shean in Lineup against Bethlehem,” Fall River Globe, September 20, 1918: 6; “Eddy Eayrs Goes to Naval Station,” Evening Day, July 24, 1918: 8.

38 Efforts by Providence to regain entry into the International League had failed over the winter.

39 Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 271, which gives Eastern League batting champ Eayrs a .322 batting mark. See also, “Eddie Eayrs of Providence Tops Eastern League Hitters, Hartford Courant, January 7, 1920: 17.

40 “Eddie Eayrs Is Booked to Go to Milwaukee,” Bridgeport (Connecticut) Times, January 22, 1920: 9; “Eddie Eayrs May Be Signed for Hartford,” Bridgeport Times, January 17, 1920: 9; “Eddie Eayrs May Join Hugh Duffy’s Toronto Team,” Providence Evening Bulletin, December 19, 1919: 18.

41 “Braves Sign Eddie Eayrs of Providence,” Boston Herald, February 26, 1920: 11; “Eayrs Signs Contract with Boston Braves,” Providence Evening Bulletin, February 26, 1920: 14.

42 “Eayrs Pitches Braves to Victory,” Hartford Courant, March 26, 1920: 12; “Mostly Single,” Boston Herald, March 16, 1920: 14.

43 W.O. McGeehan, “Eddie Eayrs, A Southpaw, Curbs McGraw’s Sluggers to Dismay of 22,000 Fans,” New York Tribune, April 15, 1920: 16.

44 Ed Cunningham, “Braves Boost the Bucs Right Up to the Summit,” Boston Herald, May 22, 1920: 6.

45 R.J. Kelly, “Eayrs Stars in Triumph of Braves over Dodgers,” New York Tribune, May 29, 1920: 6. Eayrs also registered a single in five at-bats and an outfield assist.

46 “St. Louis Leaders Losing Ground in Batting Average,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 24, 1920: 8. At that juncture in the season, the official National League batting leader was the Cardinals’ Rogers Hornsby (.359).

47 “Big League Stuff,” (Indianapolis) Indiana Times, August 26, 1920: 8.

48 John Sullivan, another part-time outfielder, hit .296. First baseman Walter Holke’s .294 was the highest batting average posted by a Braves regular.

49 1921 Reach Official Base Ball Guide, 100. Hornsby (.370) was the NL batting champ.

50 Frank Gaffney, “Big Al Pierotti Hurls Fine Game,” Boston Post, March 31, 1921: 7.

51 The batting averages shown were the players’ final averages for the 1921 season.

52 In the 49 Braves games played between May 31 and July 23, Eayrs saw action exactly once – as an unsuccessful pinch-hitter on June 23.

53 “Brooklyn Gets Eayrs,” Brooklyn Citizen, September 1, 1921: 4; “Eddie Eayrs to the Dodgers,” Evening Day, September 1, 1921: 9.

54 “Thirty-Eight Players on Brooklyn Reserves,” Brooklyn Times, October 28, 1921: 10.

55 “Eddie Eayrs Sold to New Haven Club,” Brooklyn Eagle, December 31, 1921: 14.

56 “Eayrs to Manage Worcester Club,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 21, 1922: 18; “Eddie Eayrs Secured to Pilot Worcester,” Worcester Evening Gazette, October 20, 1922: 22.

57 “Burkett to Return as Worcester’s Manager,” Boston Globe, July 9. 1923: 7; “Eddie Eayrs of Worcester Club Suddenly Resigns – Jess Burkett to Become New Manager,” Hartford Courant, July 9, 1923: 12.

58 “Wally Simpson Leads Eastern in Making New Hit Records,” The Sporting News, October 11, 1923: 3.

59 “Eayrs Has Broken Leg,” Worcester Evening Gazette, July 26, 1924: 11; “Eayrs on Shelf,” Collyer’s Eye, August 2, 1924: 8.

60 “Powell Picks Eayrs to Manage Worcester,” Springfield Republican, December 3, 1924: 12; “Eddie Eayrs to Be Named Manager of Worcester Club as Successor to Burkett,” Worcester Evening Gazette, December 2, 1924: 22; “Eayrs Refused to Accept Managerial Duties at Worcester,” Holyoke Daily Transcript, December 15, 1924: 10.

61 “‘Casey’ Stengel Becomes President-Manager of Worcester Baseball Club,” Boston Herald, May 21, 1925: 19; “Casey Stengel Buys Worcester Eastern Club,” Schenectady (New York) Gazette, May 21, 1925: 16.

62 “Eayrs Wins Batting Honors in Eastern,” Elmira (New York) Star-Gazette, December 8, 1925: 8; “Eayrs Leads E.L. Batsmen,” Worcester Evening Gazette, December 7, 1925: 25.

63 “Eddie Eayrs Signs with Providence,” Worcester Evening Gazette, April 26, 1926: 23.

64 “Patsy Donovan Out as Grays’ Manager,” Boston Globe, June 28, 1927: 18; “Donovan Dropped as Providence Pilot,” Worcester Evening Gazette, June 28, 1928: 15.

65 “Weiss Buys Seven Players for New Haven Profs,” Meriden (Connecticut) Record, February 11, 1928: 4; “New Haven Buys Catcher Smith,” Berkshire Evening Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts), February 10, 1928: 23.

66 As of November 2023, Baseball Reference’s minor league playing and managing stats for Eayrs are incomplete.

67 Eayrs’ presence on New Haven’s 1929 Opening Day roster is noted in “Eastern League Season on Today,” Springfield Republican, April 24, 1929: 25.

68 Eayrs’ post-baseball employment history is documented in US Census data and Providence city directories.

69 “Nine Players Return for Hope Celebration,” Providence Sunday Journal, December 12, 1958: 170.

70 Per the Eayrs death certificate on file at the Giamatti Research Center. Uremia is the retention of toxins in the blood and often a symptom of late-stage kidney failure.