Tommy Corcoran


Thomas William Corcoran was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from to for the Pittsburgh Burghers, Philadelphia Athletics, Brooklyn Grooms/Brooklyn Bridegrooms, Cincinnati Reds and the New York Giants. The Connecticut native occasionally played second base later in his career. He batted and threw right-handed.

Career

Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Corcoran gained the nicknames Corky and Tommy the Cork. He was considered a hard-working, supple-handed shortstop.
A mediocre hitter, Corcoran batted.300 in a season just once. He was a barehanded fielder early in his career when gloves were gradually becoming standard equipment, and made the transition to a glove without difficulty. He became adept at going to his right to field ground balls backhanded. Corcoran set a still-standing ML record for shortstops with 14 assists in a nine-inning game. Corcoran finished in the top 10 in the league in at bats seven times.
Over an 18-season career, Corcoran batted.256, with 34 home runs and 1,135 RBIs. He had a total of 387 stolen bases, scored 1,184 runs, and made 2,256 hits in 8,812 career at-bats. He accumulated 2,957 total bases.
After retiring as a player, Corcoran became an umpire; his umpiring included one season in the short-lived third major circuit, the Federal League.
Corcoran had four sons and a daughter. He died at the age of 91 in Plainfield, Connecticut.