Frank O'Rourke

Who was Frank O'Rourke?

James Francis O'Rourke was a Canadian infielder in Major League Baseball. He played fourteen seasons in the major leagues with the Boston Braves, Brooklyn Robins, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, and St. Louis Browns.

O'Rourke was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and debuted as the youngest player in the National League at 17 years age. His best season was 1925, when he batted .293 with 40 doubles, 5 home runs, and 57 RBI. In his career he played at all four infield positions, primarily third base, where he had a .949 career fielding percentage in 598 games. O'Rourke was also a longtime New York Yankees scout.

In 1986, O'Rourke died at age 91 in Chatham, New Jersey. He was inducted posthumously into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.