Tom York

Who was Tom York?

Thomas Jefferson "Tom" York was a professional baseball left fielder. Over the course of York's 15-season career as a professional, which spanned the National Association and Major League Baseball, he racked up 1095 hits in 4002 at bats, for a .274 batting average. Twice, during his playing time with the Providence Grays, he was also manager including the entire first season of the team's existence in 1878.

York began his playing career in the amateur National Association of Base Ball Players with the Powhatan club in Brooklyn in 1869. In 1871, he became a member of the Troy Haymakers, one of the founding clubs of the National Association. He was playing for the Hartford Dark Blues when they joined the new National League in 1876.

In 1878, after the Hartfords folded, York joined the Providence Grays as player-manager. That season, he led the National League in total bases, extra-base hits, and triples. He was a member of the National League champion Grays team of 1879, and remained with the team until 1882. In 1883, now a member of the Cleveland Blues he led the league in walks. After one season with the Blues, he was purchased by the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association. He played two seasons for Baltimore to finish out his major league career.