Ed Irvin

William Edward Irvin (1882 - February 5, 1916) was a 30-year-old replacement player in one game for the Detroit Tigers on May 18, 1912, after the regular team went on strike to protest the suspension of Ty Cobb, following Cobb's attack on a handicapped fan in New York.

Irvin had two triples in three at-bats against the Philadelphia Athletics. He shares the record with Cecil Bolton for most triples in a career with no other hits at two. Irvin was the only member of the replacement Tigers to get a hit in a 24-2 loss, although two members of the coaching staff (Deacon McGuire and Joe Sugden), who were pressed into service for that game, each got one hit.

Irvin's performance at third base was not as strong, as, despite being charged with only one error, Allan Travers, the pitcher for the replacement Tigers, later recalled: "I was doing fine until they started bunting. The guy playing third base had never played baseball before." [1]

Irvin finished with a .500 fielding percentage at third base, and a .667 batting average, 2.000 slugging percentage, and 2.667 OPS.

A play about his life, "The Perfect Hands of the Irresistible Ed" was written by David James Brock. [2]

According to The Baseball Necrology, Irvin died in 1916 from injuries suffered when he was "thrown through a saloon window" in Philadelphia. (The Baseball Necrology: The Post-Baseball Lives and Deaths of Over 7,600 Major League Players and Others, by Bill Lee.)