Blondie Purcell

On June 6, 1882, while playing for the Buffalo Bisons, Purcell was fined $10 ($303 today) for slicing open a soggy baseball. He did this to compel the umpire to put a fresh ball in play so his pitcher, Pud Galvin, would be able to throw his curveball.[2]

Purcell was the first player to get a hit and also score a run in Philadelphia Phillies franchise history, doing so in his first at bat of the 1883 season.

In 1883, Purcell was the player-manager for the Philadelphia Quakers, the team later known as the Phillies. He took the reins of the team after 17 games, when they were only 4–13 under player-manager Bob Ferguson, and finished the season with a dismal 17–81 record. The eighth-place Quakers finished 23 games behind the seventh-place Detroit Wolverines. Purcell never managed again in the major leagues.[3]

Purcell finished his professional baseball career with the ill-fated 1890 Philadelphia Athletics. In 1,097 career games, he had 1,217 hits and a .267 batting average. As a pitcher, he had a win–loss record of 15–43.[1]

Purcell ran a bookmaking operation during his playing career and continued to do so afterwards.[4][5] It is not known when, where, or if he died.

• List of Major League Baseball player-managers

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blondie Purcell.

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)