Jiggs Donahue

Who was Jiggs Donahue?

John Augustus "Jiggs" Donahue was a Major League Baseball player for 9 seasons from 1900 to 1909. Born in Springfield, Ohio, Donahue began his career as a catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, and St. Louis Browns.

Donahue had his greatest success from 1904 to 1908, after switching to first base for the Chicago White Sox. Donahue's defensive skills were a key to the White Sox' 1906 World Series championship team, and he led American League first basemen in fielding percentage, assists, and putouts for 3 consecutive seasons, from 1905 to 1907. In 1907, Donahue had 1,846 putouts, which is still the major league record for putouts by a first baseman. He also holds the major league single season record for most chances accepted per game with 12.65 in 1907.

Though known mostly for his fielding, Donahue was also a decent hitter from 1905 to 1907. In 1905, he was among the American League leaders in batting average, on-base percentage, RBIs, and stolen bases. In 1906, Donahue was among the league leaders in stolen bases and sacrifice hits and was one of only three White Sox starters to bat over .250 for the 1906 World Champion "Hitless Wonders." Donahue also paced all batters with a .333 mark in the 1906 World Series.