| Steve O'neill |
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A native of Minooka , Pennsylvania , near Scranton , O’Neill was one of four brothers who escaped a life in the coal mines by playing in the major leagues. The others were Jack , a catcher in the National League (1902-06); Mike , a lefthanded pitcher in the NL (1901-04, 1907); and Jim , an infielder with the American League Washington Senators (1920, 1923). To top it off, two of Steve O’Neill’s daughters married baseball players, one of whom was Skeeter Webb , who worked for O’Neill when he managed the Detroit Tigers during the 1940s. Steve had by far the most successful baseball career of the O’Neill brothers. He was a catcher for 17 years in the AL, with the Cleveland Indians (1911-23), Boston Red Sox (1924), New York Yankees (1925), and St. Louis Browns (1927-28). His playing career curtailed by an injury sustained in a car accident, O’Neill compiled a Batting Average of .263 in 1,586 games, and, in his only World Series appearance in 1920, hit .333 in seven games as the backstop for the Champion Indians. As a major league manager with four teams – the Indians (1935-37), Tigers (1943-48), Red Sox (1950-51) and Philadelphia Phillies (1952-54) – O’Neill never had a losing record. His Tigers won the 1945 World Series (when they defeated the Chicago Cubs in the Cubs’ last Fall Classic appearance) and O’Neill was known for turning around under-performing teams, often in mid-season. His career winning percentage over 14 seasons was a stalwart .559. He also served as a coach for Cleveland, Detroit and Boston. O'Neill died at age 70 in Cleveland, Ohio , after suffering a Heart Attack . EXTERNAL LINK
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