Charles Joseph "Curry" Foley (January 16, 1856 – October 20, 1898) was an Irish born professional baseball player who played in the National League (NL) for five seasons from 1879 to 1883. He played as a pitcher, outfielder and first baseman for two teams in the NL; the Boston Red Caps (1879–80) and Buffalo Bisons (1881–83).
Early life
Foley was born Milltown, County Kerry, to Charles Foley (a farmer) and Betsy Gearin.[1] His family emigrated to the United States, arriving in New York City on June 27, 1863.
Baseball career
Foley played in 337 games; 204 in the outfield, 69 as a pitcher, and 54 at first base. He compiled six home runs, 128 RBIs, and a .286 batting average as a batter, and posted a 27–27 win–loss record, 127 strikeouts and a 3.54 ERA as a pitcher in 442 innings pitched.
First major league cycle
On May 25, 1882, Foley became the first major league player to officially hit for the cycle.[2] In a game against the Cleveland Blues, Foley hit a home run in the first inning, a triple in the second inning, a single in third inning and a double in the fifth inning. [3][4]
Post-baseball life
On October 23, 1883, Foley became a naturalized citizen of the United States.[5] Foley was working as a laborer, and listed as single when died at the age of 42 in Boston, Massachusetts.[1] His cause of death was cirrhosis of the liver, and he is interred at Mount Cavalry Cemetery in Roslindale, Massachusetts.[1]
See also
- List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
- List of players from Ireland in Major League Baseball
References
- ^ a b c Massachusetts, Death Records, 1841–1915. "Charles J Foley" (database on-line). ancestry.com. Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Huber, Mike. "June 14, 1876: George Hall gets five hits, but is it a cycle?". SABR. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
- ^ Buffalo Courier, May 26, 1882, page 2
- ^ Huber, Mike. "May 25, 1882: Buffalo's Curry Foley completes first cycle in major leagues with grand slam". SABR. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
- ^ "Charles J Foley". ancestry.com. U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791–1992 (Indexed in World Archives Project). Retrieved August 2, 2015.
Further reading
- "Buffalo-Cleveland". The Daily Inter Ocean. Chicago. May 26, 1882. p. 7 – via newspapers.com. (box score of cycle game)
- "'Curry' Foley Is Dead". The Sandusky Star-Journal. Sandusky, Ohio. October 24, 1898 – via newspapers.com.
- "Poor Curry Foley". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 24, 1898 – via newspapers.com.
External links
- Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet