Bert Daly

Albert Joseph Daly (April 8, 1881 – September 3, 1952) was an American Major League Baseball infielder who played for the Philadelphia Athletics during the 1903 season while he was in medical school. He worked as a physician which became his entry point into politics and ended up serving five terms as mayor of his hometown of Bayonne, New Jersey to which he was elected both as a Republican and as a Democrat.

Bert Daly
Infielder
Born: April 8, 1881
Bayonne, New Jersey
Died: September 3, 1952(1952-09-03) (aged 71)
Bayonne, New Jersey
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 7, 1903, for the Philadelphia Athletics
Last MLB appearance
September 5, 1903, for the Philadelphia Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average.190
Hits4
RBI4
Teams

Biography

Born and raised in Bayonne, Daly attended the University of Maryland, College Park.[1] He received his medical training at Baltimore Medical College (since renamed University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus).[2]

Connie Mack recruited Daly in 1902 to play for the Newark Sailors minor league baseball team in the Eastern League.[3] He played major league baseball in 1903 with the Philadelphia Athletics while he was still a student in medical school.[2] From 1903 to 1906, Daly played for the Hartford Senators of the Connecticut League.[1]

He was appointed in 1920 to serve as the physician of Hudson County, New Jersey, serving in that role until 1938.[2]

Political career

First elected as a Democrat to serve on the Bayonne City Council in 1909, Daly was elected as mayor of Bayonne in 1913 as a Republican, but lost a race for re-election in 1915. He won a second term as mayor in 1919, this time as a Democrat, and was re-elected in both 1923 and 1927.[2] Daly had been running for mayor of Bayonne in 1939 against a Hague-supported ticket, but dropped out in March due to health issues.[4] He was elected to his fifth term of office in 1943.[2] In 1946, while serving his fifth and final term in office, Daly faced indictment on charges of official misconduct relating to claims that he had and the city's police chief had failed to deal with bookmaking and gambling in Bayonne,[5] though the charges against him were later thrown out.

In March 1947, Daly announced that he would be supporting a slate of candidates running for Bayonne city council in opposition to the official slate that was being supported by Hudson County Democratic Party boss Frank Hague.[6] Later that month, with the break with Hague complete, and having lost support from the party, Daly stepped down as mayor.[3]

References
  1. Bert Daly, Baseball Reference. Accessed March 8, 2021.
  2. "Ex-Mayor B. J. Daly of Bayonne, Was 71; City's Chief Executive 5 Times in 30 Years Dies Played Baseball as Young Man", The New York Times, September 4, 1952. Accessed March 8, 2021.
  3. "Daly Resigns Post As Bayonne Mayor; Veteran Official 'Quits Politics' After Break With Hague -- Griffin to Take Over", The New York Times, March 11, 1947. Accessed March 8, 2021. "Harassed by intra-party strife, opposed by fellow members of the City Commission and deserted by Mayor Frank Hague of Jersey City, his erstwhile supporter, Dr. Bert Daly came to the end of his political rope here today.... Before becoming active in politics, Dr. Daly was a professional baseball player, being signed by Connie Mack to play in the outfield for the Newark team of the Eastern League. Later he became owner of the Hartford club in the Connecticut State League"
  4. "Hague Foe Quits Race; Dr. Daly Forced by Illness to Drop Bayonne Campaign", The New York Times, March 16, 1939. Accessed March 8, 2021.
  5. "Bayonne Mayor Denies Guilt", The New York Times, May 25, 1946. Accessed March 8, 2021.
  6. "Splits With Mayor Hague; Daly of Bayonne Announces Slate to Oppose Hudson Leader", The New York Times, March 1, 1947. Accessed March 8, 2021.
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