James Creighton – Baseball’s First Star and a 19th Century Bo Jackson

James Creighton 

When the name Jim Creighton comes up few baseball fans will give it a second thought.  Mr. Creighton has been dead for almost a century and a half but his legacy lives on without being acknowleged.

James Creighton was born in Manhattan in 1841 and grew up in Brooklyn.  As a 16 year old he began pitching for the New York Niagaras, a lower tier amatuer club in the baseball crazy New York area.  When his Niagaras went up against the established Brooklyn Stars his fast, accurate pitching and homerun hitting caught the eye of the Stars.

Before this time pitchers were forced to throw the ball within an area indicated by the batter, underhand and with a fixed wrist and elbow.  It is unclear whether Creighton broke the rules or was just able to throw his “speedball” (eat your heart-out Bruce Springsteen) accuratley while others could not physically control such a pitch.   

Before his 20th birthday Jim was signed on by the elite Brooklyn Excelsior club.  Still considered amatuer as a ballplayer, Jim was also a top notch cricket player. Cricket and baseball were competing in the New York Metro area for top billing.  Cricket, usually a gentleman’s game did not frown on professionalism while baseball, a game for the masses, had not yet embraced professional players. 

However, it is suspected that Jim recieved money to play for the Excelsiors when they went on the road.  The first ever road trip in baseball history!  The NABBP (National Association of Base Ball Players) champions played games in Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Hamilton, Woodstock, London, Detroit, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington in the summer of 1860.  This tour, along with Jim’s charisma and star quality made baseball a fad throughout the north east and Canada.  Before this time, sportsmen and sports journals had focused primarily on cricket, polo and horse racing.  After this tour, baseball quickly overtook other sports in popularity. 

Criegton played only a little in 1861 with the Excelsiors as he was making money playing cricket.  He was rumoured to have been sold to the rival Brooklyn Atlantics.  After a month with the rival Atlantics he was returned to the champion Excelsiors who seemed to bench him as a punishment.

While the Union Army was in shambles in 1862 Criegton did not enlist, instead he was busier than he had been in other summers.  With many top and middle athletes leaving both the cricket and baseball circuits Creighton was able to make tonnes of cash double dipping in both sports as well as playing in baseball exhibitions.

Crieghton was renouned for his “home run swing”, which probably would not be comparable to today’s sluggers.  The mid-19th C home run swing was done with the hands apart on a long and heavy bat, with the motion and strength coming from the upper body, a twist at the waist with no stepping into the ball as we all do today.  This very unnatural motion has been attributed to the occurances of 14 October 1862. 

A few weeks before the Excelsiors matched up against the Bronx Unions, Creighton had been injured in a cricket match.  Then while hitting a home run against the Unions he ruptured a hernia and fell ill almost immediatly afterwards.  He was set home in agony and died 4 days later at his parents house in Brooklyn.  The baseball world was crushed.  But a martyr was born.  Over the next few decades Creighton’s legend grew.  After the Civil War, travel became easier and baseball teams began to travel more.  Teams from as far as Detroit, Cincinnati and Virginia would come to New York on tour and it was proper for the teams to visit the gravesite and monument to Creighton (which still stands) in Brooklyn’s Greenwood Cemetary.  Of note his grave is very close to another baseball pioneer, one Henry Chadwick.

Creighton’s star has now dimmed, he, not Cap Anson was the first superstar of baseball, he like Bo Jackson in the 1980’s, was a two sport all-star who’s career was cut short.  There are few records that are irrefuteable, of note, he is the first pitcher to throw a complete game shutout.  Record keeping and statistics were in their infancy in the 1860’s but Creigton should get some consideration for the Hall of Fame for simply being a builder and pioneer. 

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11 replies on “James Creighton – Baseball’s First Star and a 19th Century Bo Jackson”
  1. says: Kman

    I checked the lahman database and there has never been any mention of creigton in any HOF voting, veterans, etc.

    Many citied a wrist flick, including historian Harold Seymour. Is this an instance of acceptable cheating, al la Mr. Perry?

  2. says: Early

    If he could get a significant amount of speed through merely flicking his wrist would be surprising to me. Think about the difference between pitching fastpitch and slo-pitch, a wrist flicker in slo-pitch is not going to have the speed that a fastpitch pitcher will have, there are so many more mechanical intangibles involved. Slo-Pitch pitcher can throw knuckleballs, curve balls, backspin, frontspin etc, but cannot get considerable speed.
    I don’t think that he can be linked to Perry and considered acceptable cheating. Not getting caught does not make it acceptable. Perhaps his wrist flick is similar to the balk rule that began to be enforced about 15 years ago, where pitchers were made to pause for a full second before delivering. I don’t know if it is cheating to do it or not. If Mr. Creighton’s wrist flick was not called, other pitchers would follow suit and as we see now that wrist flicking is not illegal but encouraged, whereas there is still no foeign substances and pitchers still have to pause for a full second. Food for thought – Is travelling and not getting called in the NBA cheating?

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  4. says: Smith

    There is no doubt that he should be in the Hall. Unfortunately, the Hall does not like the acknowldege pre-1876 stars. Sooooo, fellow Brooklnite Jimmy is out, but undeserving players like Phil Rizzuto are in.

  5. says: Walter H.

    From what I understand, Creighton had decided to have a friend cast a baseball for him in steel, i.e. he had a steel ball made the same size as a baseball, and with this he practiced. Perhaps the strain he placed on his muscles and tendons by repeated use of this steel ball had something to do with that unfortunate day.

  6. says: Wally O

    Concerning the “wrist flick”, it would make more sense that he was probably throwing side arm, but because it was in an over hand manner, that is what caught most of the attention from those watching. Just my 2 cents, unless the Feds have increased that too. LOL! I am a huge fan of Jim Creighton and am planning to visit his grave this weekend, weather permitting.

  7. says: Wally O

    In addition to my previous post. Much like a fighter…as Bruce Lee pointed out. When you throw a punch and put your hip into it, you get more power. I surmise, that Creighton threw the ball “side arm” in this particular way. We have to remember, in his day a speed ball was probably half (at best) to what we know as a fastball/speedball!

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