Dave Oldfield

 

Dave Oldfield was a switch-hitting, left-handed-throwing catcher for three teams in the 1880s.

David Oldfield (his full name) was born in Philadelphia on December 18, in 1864 or earlier. His parents, William and Sarah, were born in Yorkshire, England, in 1829 and emigrated to the US in 1854; David was their fourth of six children. The June 1870 census shows the family living in Philadelphia. William is a blacksmith; oldest daughter Lucy, born before the emigration, is out of the house; William Jr. is ten, David is listed as seven, which would put his birth in 1862; Martha is five; and Joseph is two months. Second child Thomas would have been eleven, but he died of scarlet fever a year previously.

In the 1880 census, also taken in June, addresses are now given, and the Oldfields are at 2740 C Street in Philadelphia. William is a laborer; William Jr., 20, works in a worsted mill; David, listed as 17, is a milkman; Martha, 15, works in a hosiery mill, and Joseph is not listed—he would pass away two years later, at age 12, so I don’t know where he was during the census.

Milkman David was also playing baseball. The June 9, 1883, edition of the Carbon Advocate of Lehighton, Pennsylvania, reported that “Several professional base ball players have been engaged to play in a professional club recently formed in Easton.” One of the players listed was named Oldfield, and I assume that was Dave, though I found no evidence of his playing for Easton. The next day’s Sporting Life, which was published in Philadelphia, showed him catching and batting second for local amateur team Hartville against Five-Twenty; “In the ninth inning Oldfield put the ball over the right field fence, bringing home three runs and scoring himself.” He appeared in more box scores for Hartville in July and August, catching and batting first, second, or third.

Along the way, though, he somehow hooked up briefly with the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association. On June 26 he caught for them in an exhibition game against Dayton, which seems to have been an independent town team; then on the 28^th he made his official major league debut in Columbus, going 0-for 4 and making three errors in nine chances (plus five passed balls) as catcher. But then he was back to Hartville.

In mid-August Dave joined the Ironsides team of Lancaster, which seems, at this point anyway, to have been an independent semipro team, playing games against professional, semipro and amateur teams. He caught and played in the outfield for the Ironsides. From the September 26 Lancaster Daily Intelligencer:

Dave Oldfield, one of the finest baseball players the Ironsides club has ever had, left the nine last night. Some time ago Oldfield and Hyndman, who had been playing with the Hartvilles, of Philadelphia, were engaged to come here and work as a change [backup] battery, each to get the same salary. Oldfield played a fine game behind the bat or in the field and was considered the safest batter in the nine. Hyndman did not come up to the expectation of the management in any position. About a week ago three new players, who had been on the Easton club, were hired and the club then consisted of twelve men. This number was considered too large by the management and they made up their minds to get rid of at least one player. On Saturday Hyndman was released. Oldfield was in Philadelphia at the time and returned to Lancaster last night. He informed the manager that he would no longer play with the club because of his friend’s release. After receiving what money was due him he returned to Philadelphia. He goes to Chester to-day, having joined the Houston club of that place. Oldfield says that when he and Hyndman left Philadelphia to come to Lancaster they agreed to stick together, and if one was released the other would leave also; he wants to be as good as his word. It is claimed by friends of Hyndman that he was not given a sufficient chance in this city, as he always played a good game with the Hartvilles, where he had a high batting average. Be that as it may, he did not play well here, and as sorry as the club are to lose Oldfield they could not retain Hyndman.

Dave played for Houston briefly, but by October 10 he was back with the Ironsides. On October 23, during the team’s final game of the season, he refused to enter the game at catcher because he had caught three pitchers the day before; he was immediately released.

The stats also credit Dave with an unspecified number of games in 1883 with Altoona of the Western Interstate League and one game with the Brooklyn Greys of the Interstate Association. If he did play with those teams, it was presumably before June. On December 12 it was reported that he had been rehired by the Ironsides for 1884.

On February 25, 1884, Dave married Ellen Christian in Philadelphia; the church records showed his age as 21, again suggesting an 1862 birth year. He spent the season with the Ironsides, catching and playing some outfield. The Ironsides played a lot of games against teams from the professional Eastern League; by June the Eastern League standings in Sporting Life included a notation of each team’s record versus the Ironsides, and by August the Ironsides were included in the standings. From the September 3 Sporting Life:

At Newark Aug. 28 the Domestic and Ironsides clubs played the most remarkable game of the Eastern League season, fifteen innings being played for a single run. Each club excelled itself on the field and the battery work was splendid, Oldfield making some remarkable catches and Stone assisting in the finest double play ever seen in Newark. In the twelfth inning McTamany led off with a triple and Bradley got first on a fumble by Lufberry. Oldfield hit safe to left, but Gaunt by a beautiful lightning throw caught McTamany at the plate and Bradley was put out at third on Stone’s swift return of the ball. The winning run was scored in the fifteenth inning by Oldfield on a wild throw by McDonald. Curry’s umpiring was very fine. The game lasted but 2 hours and 15 minutes, nine innings being played in 1h., 22m.

It must have been quite the beautiful lightning throw to catch a runner trying to score from third on a single to the outfield.

The stats show Dave with a .274 batting average and .338 slugging percentage in 237 at-bats in 55 league games. After the season the Ironsides beat an independent team called the Lancaster Club, or the Lancasters, in a seven-game series for the championship of Lancaster. Along the way, on June 16, Dave’s sister Martha had given birth; the baby died the next day and Martha died on the 21^st.

From the November 12 Sporting Life:

Mr. Von Der Ahe [St. Louis Browns owner] is coming East next month to hunt up another catcher. He has some idea of trying Oldfield, who, by the way, made a good record this year. He stood fourth among Eastern League catchers with a [fielding] average of .855.

On December 3 Sporting Life reported: “We have a letter for David Oldfield.” No word on whether he ever got it. His next mention there, April 22, 1885, was much less trivial: “Dave Oldfield has lost his child by death.” Daughter Annie, born in February, passed away on April 16.

Dave did not get signed by Mr. Von Der Ahe, but instead returned to the Eastern League. The Ironsides team disbanded, so the Lancaster Club joined the league, and Dave joined them. From the May 27 Sporting Life Lancaster report:

The base ball business is very bad in this city, and although the Lancaster Club has been playing excellent ball since their return home, the guarantee money has been drawn at but a few games since the opening. As a consequence the management of the club is disheartened. If the crowd do not increase it will be impossible to keep the club up…Hiland, McTamany and Oldfield are doing great hitting for the home team and all are doing fine fielding.

July 1:

Oldfield is compelled to do considerable work just now on the Lancaster Club, but he does it well. Besides being one of the finest catchers in the Eastern League, he is hitting the ball right on the nose.

August 12:

Lancaster Joins the Great Army of Defunct Clubs—The Causes Thereof

LANCASTER, August 7.--…The members of the team arrived home on Wednesday evening and are now in this city. They remain here in expectation of receiving their salaries, which is owing them…Oldfield, who is one of the finest catchers in the Eastern League, will also likely go to Brooklyn, although he has numerous offers elsewhere…

The Lancaster Club started out with good prospects this year, but bad management on the part of the stockholders has ruined them. Last year the town supported two professional clubs, but the Ironsides were the only one in an association. They managed to exist the whole season and showed a splendid record in the Eastern League. This season the Ironsides people put no club in the field, but agreed to let the Lancasters have full swing. The result was that the ill-feeling of patrons of the clubs prevented many Ironsides people from attending the Lancaster games. Since the opening the crowds have been very small and the guarantee was not drawn at the majority of games…

A week later Sporting Life reported that Dave had indeed signed with the Brooklyn Grays of the American Association, along with Jim “Thrown Out at Home Trying to Score From Third on a Single” McTamany. It looks like Dave made his Brooklyn debut, his second major league game, on August 18. The Brooklyn report in the September 2 Sporting Life said that “McTamany and Oldfield, recently added to the team, have made an excellent impression.” After the season the Grays played an exhibition series against the New York Metropolitans of the National League; the Sporting Life report on game two, which Brooklyn won 5-0, said that “Harkins pitched an unusually strong game, and Oldfield, who was put in to catch his speedy but frequently wild delivery, did a very creditable piece of work, and proved a surprise to his friends.”

Dave hit .320/.414/.360 for Brooklyn in 25 at-bats in ten games, appearing in nine at catcher and two in the outfield. While with Lancaster he hit .269 and slugged .311 in 219 at-bats in 51 games. He appeared on the Brooklyn reserve list over the off-season.

After son William was born on April 10, Dave returned to Brooklyn in 1886, but was the number three catcher and didn’t play a lot. In July, having gotten into just 14 games, he moved to the Washington Nationals of the National League. The Washington report in the July 28 Sporting Life included:

Last week the wires were kept busy endeavoring to secure new material to strengthen the club, and the result was that we have secured Oldfield, who is a very clever catcher, and he has joined the team.

A week later Sporting Life reported that “Washington is pleased with Oldfield.” He played in just 21 games for them, though, hitting just .149; adding in his Brooklyn stats, which were somewhat better, his numbers for the year were .183/.226/.206 in 126 at-bats in 35 games—25 at catcher and ten in the outfield.

On December 22 the Milwaukee Journal reported that Dave had signed with Oshkosh. The Toronto report in the Sporting Life of January 26, 1887, included this:

I have seen a letter from a reliable party in Chicago denying the report of Decker’s impersonating Oldfield in Chicago. It is about time this player was let alone.

I have no clue what that meant. A week later Dave appeared on the roster of the Oswego Starchboxes [!] of the International Association. On February 23 Sporting Life announced that they had another letter for him. He played catcher, center field, and second base for the Starchboxes, usually hitting fourth, fifth, or sixth, but the team disbanded in early June. From the June 4 Cleveland Plain Dealer:

The Oswego club lost $2,000 before it disbanded. Its three best men have been gobbled up. Utica gets Jim Brouthers, Toronto Dave Oldfield and Newark will sign Hayes.

Dave caught and played right field for the Canucks. By the end of the season he was usually hitting ninth, though the only stats I found for him, in the Toronto report in the December 28 Sporting Life, showed him with a .353 batting average, along with an .893 slugging percentage and 13 stolen bases. Along with the stats was a review of the Canucks’ season, which included this:

Oldfield was one of the favorites of last season’s team. Quiet and unassuming, he made hosts of friends. When Traffley’s hands gave out Oldfield was [illegible], and it is no reflection upon the Baltimore catcher’s ability to say that Oldfield was the more acceptable.

Dave was on the Toronto reserve list over the off-season and played for them again in 1888. During the season there was periodic speculation that the New York Giants might want him, to catch Ed Crane, but he stayed in Toronto. His season stats show him with 314 at-bats in 56 games, which is impossible; the other numbers include a .194 batting average and .264 slugging percentage, and two home runs, which may have been his first as a professional.

On January 16, 1889, the Saginaw News reported: “’Davy’ Oldfield wants too much money for the size of Toronto’s pie and cannot play there unless he comes down in his price.” On February 8 Ellen died of tuberculous laryngitis. On March 6 Sporting Life reported that “Catcher Dave Oldfield’s wife died in Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago” and also that “Toronto has given Hamilton permission to negotiate with catcher Oldfield.” On March 20 Dave’s testimonial appeared in an ad for Decker Safety Catching Gloves:

I have used your Decker Safety Catching Gloves and think them superior to any in the market. I have given them a fair trial and find them to be the best glove I have ever used.—DAVID OLDFIELD, Toronto Base Ball Club.

Dave did sign with Hamilton, and he did a lot of the catching for them until mid-July, when he was released. He hit .200 with a .260 slugging percentage in 150 at-bats in 43 games. Hamilton was managed by Dave’s former Brooklyn teammate Ed Swartwood, who looked back at his time in Hamilton in the February 21, 1891, Pittsburgh report in Sporting Life:

“Well, that is what I get for one little incident,” said Ed Swartwood this afternoon, after reading a clip from a Columbus paper that he was a good ball player, but had a bad habit of trying to arouse antagonisms in a club. “Now, all comes from my Hamilton, Ont., experience. You will likely remember the rocky time I had there as manager. One evening I was out with Davy Oldfield. Neither was drinking. We left for home about 11 o’clock. Imagine my surprise the next day when McKay, who was president of the club, sent for me and said I must fine Oldfield $100 for being intoxicated all evening and night. I demurred, saying that I knew Oldfield had been all right when I left him, and said I would investigate a little before imposing the fine. I asked Davy, and he said the story was an untruth, and he was willing to go before the accusers. I took him to McKay, and he sent for the men who told him of the occurrence. They declined to come over. Under this I believed Oldfield. I refused to fine the man, and then those people started stories that I shielded some of the players and aroused trouble in the team. Their assertion has thus stuck to me. You know how the Kanucks acted finally.”

Following his release I found no more information about Dave until April 5, 1890, when the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal reported:

Dave Oldfield is likely to play in Toronto this season. He has sent his terms to the management, but they think the figures are high. Dave was never afraid to ask enough for himself.

On the same day Sporting Life reported that he was negotiating with the Buffalo Bisons, also of the International Association, but added that “Oldfield is also wanted by Toronto, and may go there.” A week that same publication reported that he had signed with Buffalo; on May 17 their Buffalo correspondent observed:

Davy Oldfield is somewhat shorter than when he used to catch Doc Shepard in Toronto, but he is a fine catcher now just as he was then. He is stopping all sorts of balls, and stole third base off Goodfellow amid plaudits and shrieks of pleased surprise from adjacent locomotives, on Thursday last.

Also from the Buffalo correspondent, June 7: “Davy Oldfield’s work is first-class again and he is well nigh the star catcher of the League.” But by the time that appeared in print, the team had moved to Montreal. A week or so later Montreal dropped out of the league, and their place in the league, and their record, was taken by Grand Rapids—but that was a whole new group of players. Dave had 49 at-bats in 15 games for Buffalo/Montreal, hitting .204, with all ten of his hits being singles.

This seems to have been the end of Dave’s professional career, and other than censuses and city directories, he disappears. In the 1890 Philadelphia city directory his occupation is listed as “helper,” and he lives with his parents at 2914 Boudinot; brother William Jr. has a “stoves” business next door at 2916 and lives at 2732 C Street. In 1891 David has gone into the stoves business with William as “Oldfield and Brother,” with the business address given as 2914 Boudinot. In 1892 Oldfield and Brother’s line is given as “junk.” In 1894 the business address returns to 2916 Boudinot, while David continues to live with his parents at 2914 and William continues at 2732 C Street.

On January 11, 1895, William Sr. died at the age of 75. On November 18, 1896, David got remarried, to 23-year-old Ellen McMillen. The 1897 city directory shows Oldfield and Brother’s business as “iron,” and the business address returns to 2914 Boudinot, where David lives with Ellen #2 and his mother Sarah. Brother William is now at 2918 Boudinot. On December 20 Ellen gave birth to daughter Eva; on February 14, 1899, to daughter Edna; and on November 1, 1900, to son Thomas. The 1900 census, taken in June, shows David, Ellen, Eva, and Edna at 2953 D Street; David’s occupation is given as “dealer old iron.” David’s 14-year-old son with Ellen #1, William, lives with his grandmother.

The 1901 city directory shows the brothers’ business once again as “junk,” with David now living at 2955 D Street, with no address given for the business, William still at 2918 Boudinot, and Sarah at 2914. In 1902 the junk business is at 2911 C Street, the brothers retain their home addresses, and Sarah is not listed; on November 2 Ellen gave birth to fourth child John Henry. In 1905 the junk business is at 2918 Boudinot, William’s home, while David is still at 2955 D Street. Brother William had not been listed as “Jr.” since their father died, but in this edition of the directory a William Jr. is listed—as a music teacher, living at 2914 Boudinot with Sarah. This is David’s son William, now 19; brother William didn’t have a son William until 1908.

On January 19, 1906, after a pause of just over three years, Ellen gave birth to daughter Florence. In the 1908 directory the brothers seem to have gone their separate ways. David is in the junk business, living at 2955 D, William is in the metals business, living at 2918 Boudinot, and “William Jr.” is a bookkeeper, living at 2914 Boudinot with Sarah. On December 14, 1909, Ellen gave birth to daughter Ellen.

The April 1910 census shows David, Ellen, Eva, Edna, Thomas, John Henry, Florence, and baby Ellen at 2955 D Street; David is listed as a laborer in a scrap iron yard. His age is given as 47, still suggesting an 1862 birthdate. Son William is 23 and a hotel clerk, living with grandmother Sarah at 2914 Boudinot. Brother William, 49, a junk dealer, lives at 2918 Boudinot with his wife and six kids, the oldest of whom, David, is a 21-year-old express driver, and has started getting his own listings in the city directory.

In the 1911 directory our David does not appear, nor does son William, while brother William has taken his son David into the junk business as William Oldfield and Son. On December 11 of that year Ellen died giving birth to Martha, who in turn passed away May 6, 1912, of malnutrition. Our David is still missing from the 1912 directory, while son William reappears at 2914 Boudinot with Sarah, as a stenographer. In 1913 David and son William are again both missing from the directory, as is Sarah, who died on August 16.

In 1916 David returns to the directory, though with no occupation given, at 2734 C Street. William Jr. is a foreman living at 536 E Allegheny Avenue. Brother William is still in the junk business at 2918 Boudinot, while his son David, listed as David Jr., is back to being a driver and living in Sarah’s old place, 2914 Boudinot. In 1917 David and son William vanish again; the total number of Oldfields varies so much that it seems like some years the directory was more thorough than others, so an absence may not mean a lot. In 1918 David is a watchman living at 2734 C Street and the William Jr. listing is the same as in 1916.

The June 1920 census found 56-year-old (suggesting 1863 birth year) David, a watchman in the carpet industry, living at 815 Ontario Street with four of his children. A 17-year-old son “Willi” is listed as a carpet beamer, but it’s John Henry who would have been 17 at that time. Florence and Ellen are in school, and 20-year-old Edna is there with her husband and year-old daughter.

The 1921 directory shows David as a watchman, now at 2732 C Street. In 1922 he’s an “officer,” at 2736 C Street. In 1924 he’s in scrap iron, at 2718 C Street. The 1930 census shows him as an inspector for the city water department, a boarder at 2722 C Street with William Hutchine and his wife Magret. Edna and family are at 2732, and Eva and family are at 2734. David is listed as married, but no wife is living with him. His age is given as 68, which would give him a birth year of 1861. The 1935 directory shows him as a ”helper,” living at 2732 C Street.

On August 28, 1939, David died. The death certificate gives his age as 75 and his birth year as 1867, which doesn’t add up. His address is given as 2731 C Street, the cause of death is “soft type carcinoma of prostate,” which had an onset of May 1939, and “metastatic carcinoma of pelvic girdle and spinal column.” The informant is son Thomas. His tombstone shows his birth year as 1864.

Son William died in 1951. David’s children with Ellen #2, other than baby Martha, all lived to between 1975 and 1986.

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/O/Poldfd101.htm

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/oldfida01.shtml