Born in County Cork, Ireland, Donovan joined the National League in 1890, the year
the Players' League incursion created a player shortage. He was with Louisville and
Washington of the American Association in that major league's final season, 1891.
After a brief stint with Washington's NL entry in 1892, he starred with the Pirates
for eight seasons, notching six consecutive .300 seasons and serving as player-manager
in 1897 and 1899.
Dealt to the Cardinals in 1900, Donovan was their player-manager
in 1901-03. A good basestealer, his 45 swipes in 1900 led the NL, and he stole 518
bases lifetime. Being traded to Washington of the American League in 1904 gave him
the distinction of playing for three Washington clubs in three major leagues. In
1906-08 he managed the Dodgers, appearing in eight contests in '06 and '07. His last
years at the helm came with the 1910-11 Boston Red Sox. Donovan was never on a pennant
winner, and his best managerial effort was the 1910 Red Sox' 81 wins, good for fourth
place.
(DQV)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»July 2, 1904:
The Boston Pilgrims send infielder Bill O'Neill and cash to Washington for 11-year vet Kip Selbach. Selbach almost went to the Highlanders in early May, but the deal was nixed by then-new Washington manager Patsy Donovan.
»November 1, 1909: The Red Sox hire former Washington skipper Patsy Donovan as manager, replacing Fred Lake. Lake will move across town to manage the Braves next season.
»June 27, 1911: In the 7th inning at Huntington Avenue Grounds, the A's Stuffy McInnis steps into the batter's box to lead off and hits Ed Karger's warm-up pitch for an inside-the-park home run while the Red Sox are still taking their positions. Boston manager Patsy Donovan's protests to ump Ben Egan, but Egan rejects the protest on the basis of Ban Johnson's new rule prohibiting warm-up pitches. The A's win, 7–3. Ban Johnson's time-saving rule, which declares that pitchers must throw as soon as the batter is in the box, is soon withdrawn.
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