Jimmy Archer

Who was Jimmy Archer?

James Patrick Archer was an Irish-born catcher in Major League Baseball who spent nearly his entire career with four National League teams, primarily the Chicago Cubs, for whom he played from 1909 to 1917. Born in Dublin, he also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1904, the American League's Detroit Tigers in 1907, and the Pirates, Brooklyn Robins and Cincinnati Reds in 1918. As a catcher, he could remain squatting and still throw out runners attempting to steal second base due to his unique arm strength, which became his trademark, acquired from the healing of burns that shortened his muscles after an industrial accident in which Archer fell into a vat of boiling sap at the age of 19.

His family immigrated to Montreal when he was an infant, later moving to Toronto when he was three; he attended Toronto's De La Salle College and St. Michael's College School. He was working at a barrelmaker in Toronto in 1902 when he suffered the burns which led to a three-month hospitalization. In 1903 he began playing baseball in Manitoba, and in 1904 he joined the Boone, Iowa team of the Iowa State League; he married Boone resident Lillian Stark in 1905. In August 1904 he was purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he went on to play seven games for the team that season. He later played for Detroit for 18 games during the 1907 season, and started the fifth and final game of the 1907 World Series against the Cubs, but was hitless in three at bats as the Tigers lost 2-0; both Cub runs followed successful stolen bases against Archer and pitcher George Mullin. In 1909 he began playing for the Cubs, the team he remained with until 1917; he took over catching duties for Johnny Kling, one of the top players on the Cubs' pennant winners of 1906 to 1908, who was taking a year off from baseball to pursue other interests. Archer split time with Pat Moran during the 1909 season, and with Kling upon his return for the 1910 season. He played three games en route to the Cubs' 1910 World Series loss to the Philadelphia Athletics, and after doubling with one out, scored the winning run on Jimmy Sheckard's hit with two out in the bottom of the 10th inning of Game 4 – the 4-3 victory giving the Cubs their only win in the Series. However, he had only one other hit in the Series, that coming with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 5 when the Cubs were trailing 7-2.