Blaine Durbin

Blaine Alphonsus Durbin (September 10, 1886 – September 11, 1943), nicknamed "Danny Dreamer,"[1][2][3] was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Lamar, Missouri.

Blaine Durbin
Outfielder
Born: (1886-09-10)September 10, 1886
Lamar, Missouri
Died: September 11, 1943(1943-09-11) (aged 57)
Kirkwood, Missouri
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 24, 1907, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
June 30, 1909, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
Games played32
Batting average.275
Runs batted in0
Teams

Major League career

Durbin made his Major League debut on April 24, 1907, for the Chicago Cubs.[4] That season, he appeared in five games as a pitcher, going 0–1 with a save. He also played the outfield in five games that season. Durbin played for the Cubs during their 1907 and 1908 pennant-winning seasons but did not play in either World Series. Before being traded to the Cincinnati Reds on January 18, 1909 (together with Tom Downey for outfielder John Kane), Durbin had a batting average of only .250 in 14 games,[4] and on May 28, after appearing in only six games for Cincinnati, he was shipped to the Pittsburgh Pirates, doing little more than ride the bench before being released scarcely one month later.[4] Durbin appeared only once (and for the final time in a Major League uniform), as a pinch-runner representing the potential tying run in the ninth inning of a 3-2 loss to Chicago, on June 30, 1909, in the first game ever played at Forbes Field.[5]

Later life

After playing a few years in Minor League Baseball, Durbin retired as a baseball player. Just one day after his 57th birthday on September 11, 1943, Durbin died in Kirkwood, Missouri.[4] His burial is located at Saint Peters Cemetery in Kirkwood at St. Louis County in Missouri. Durbin was memorialized as the protagonist in the fictional novel The Best Team Ever (2008) by Alan Alop and Doc Noel (ISBN 978-1935098027).

References
  1. "Story of the Way Durbin Got the Name Danny Dreamer". Omaha Daily Bee. Apr 13, 1911. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  2. Dryden, Charles. "CUBS "FIT" AFTER ONE REHEARSAL: Three Hours' Work in Morning Puts Team in Shape for Today's Game; DIAMOND WELL CREASED; Vicksburg Manager Has Troubles with Steam Roller, but Triumphs in the End; Cubs Already Are 'Fit'; Evans an Epworth Leaguer; Walsh Has Hearty Breakfast". Chicago Daily Tribune. March 15, 1908. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  3. "Kaws Land One; Danny Durbin's Dream Comes True in Second Game". The Topeka State Journal. Jun 30, 1911. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  4. "Blaine Durbin Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  5. "Pirates Lose the First Game Played on Forbes Field; Pittsburgh Loses to Champion Chicago". The Gazette Times. July 1, 1909. Retrieved 2020-03-09.

Further reading
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