‘The Duke of Tralee’, Roger Bresnahan.
THE memorabilia of a baseball legend and ‘hall of famer’ who has ties to Tralee went under the hammer at a US auction fetching $224,039 (about €200,000) last weekend.
If someone were to say to you ‘The Duke of Tralee’ you would probably imagine a man from old landed aristocracy and not baseball royalty.
The name may be unfamiliar, but Roger Bresnahan is a member of the prestigious baseball hall of fame. In his playing days at the turn of the last century he was known as the ‘Duke of Tralee’.
Though born in Toledo Ohio, when asked, Roger Bresnahan, would say he came from Tralee because his family reportedly came from town, though thus far, no direct link has been found.
Perhaps someone reading might know if there is a link?
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Recently, The Bresnahan family auctioned off items from the former 1905 World Series winner with a provisional price of €65,425.
The items include, his final out World Series ball and the prized possessions of any purveyor of America’s favourite pastime his mitt and glove.
Bresnahan was a well known character during Baseball’s early years, but his ticket to the hall of fame was booked not solely by his performances behind home plate as a catcher where he played for most of his career, but for being a pioneer of safety in the game.
Roger Bresnahan in action during the 1900’s, wearing the shin-pads he pioneered.
He was the first catcher to fully get behind wearing shin pads in the big leagues. He took a lot a heat from fans because it was seen as being a bit soft, but unlike the baying hordes, Bresnahan was looking out for his fellow ball players.
“I was sick and tired of wild pitches, foul balls, thrown bats, and flying spikes cutting my legs,” he said in a 1926 interview.
“Boy, they sure called me a lot of names when I put them on. But I guess they were a good idea, they tell me catchers still wear ’em,” he said.
A Baseball historian once wrote of Bresnahan; “He was a throwback to the Irish nineties, Almost every paragraph written about him seemed to include the adjective fiery. He was one of those nice guys that if you were on his team played hard he was as nice to you as could be, but if you got on his bad side you’d think he was the Breadth of Hell.”
Sadly, it didn’t end well for Bresnahan, he went into management after his playing days, but his career in baseball trickled off.
He died just weeks before he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, in 1944 at the age of 65.
