Editing Jimmy Archer (section)

{{Short description|Irish baseball player (1883–1958)}}
{{Other people|James Archer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name        = Jimmy Archer
| image       = Jimmy_Archer_Baseball_Card.jpg
| position    = [[Catcher]]
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1883|5|13}}
| birth_place = [[Dublin, Ireland]]
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1958|3|29|1883|5|13}}
| death_place = [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]], U.S.
| bats        = Right
| throws      = Right
|debutleague = MLB
| debutdate   = September 6
| debutyear   = 1904
| debutteam   = Pittsburgh Pirates
|finalleague = MLB
| finaldate   = September 2
| finalyear   = 1918
| finalteam   = Cincinnati Reds
|statleague = MLB
| stat1label  = [[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
| stat1value  = .249
| stat2label  = [[Home run]]s
| stat2value  = 16
| stat3label  = [[Runs batted in]]
| stat3value  = 299
| teams       =
* [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] ({{mlby|1904}})
* [[Detroit Tigers]] ({{mlby|1907}})
* [[Chicago Cubs]] ({{mlby|1909}}–{{mlby|1917}})
* [[Brooklyn Robins]] ({{mlby|1918}})
* [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] ({{mlby|1918}})
* [[Cincinnati Reds]] ({{mlby|1918}})
| highlights  =
| hofcolor= #EC1C40
| hoflink= Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
| hoftype= Canadian 
| hofdate= 1990
}}

'''James Patrick Archer''' (May 13, 1883 – March 29, 1958) was an Irish-born [[catcher]] in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) who spent nearly his entire career with four [[National League (baseball)|National League]] teams, primarily the [[Chicago Cubs]], for whom he played from 1909 to 1917. Born in [[Dublin]], he also played for the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] in 1904, the [[American League]]'s [[Detroit Tigers]] in 1907, and the Pirates, [[Brooklyn Robins]] and [[Cincinnati Reds]] in 1918. As a catcher, he could remain squatting and still throw out runners attempting to [[stolen base|steal]] [[second base]] due to his unique arm strength, which became his trademark, acquired from the healing of burns that shortened his muscles<ref name=bl>{{cite web|last=Kavanagh |first=Jack |url=https://baseballbiography.com/jimmy-archer |title=The Ballplayers – Jimmy Archer |publisher=baseballbiography.com |accessdate=March 16, 2008 }}</ref> after an industrial accident in which Archer fell into a vat of boiling sap at the age of 19.

His family immigrated to [[Montreal]] when he was an infant, later moving to [[Toronto]] when he was three; he attended Toronto's [[De La Salle College (Toronto)|De La Salle College]] and [[St. Michael's College School]]. He was working at a barrelmaker in Toronto in 1902 when he suffered the burns which led to a three-month hospitalization. In 1903 he began playing baseball in [[Manitoba]], and in 1904 he joined the [[Boone, Iowa]] based [[Boone Coal Miners]] team of the [[Iowa State League]];<ref name=obit>{{cite news|url=http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Archer.Jimmy.Obit.html |title=Jimmy Archer, 74, Dies |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 31, 1958 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061113004538/http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Archer.Jimmy.Obit.html |archivedate=November 13, 2006 }}</ref> he married Boone resident Lillian Stark in 1905. In August 1904 he was purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he went on to play seven games for the team that season.<ref name=br>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/a/archeji01.shtml |title=Jimmy Archer Statistics |publisher=Baseball-Reference.com |accessdate=March 16, 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Jimmy Archer newspaper.png|thumb|left|Newspaper photo showing Archer making a catch while playing with the Cubs in 1915.]]
He later played for Detroit for 18 games during the [[1907 Detroit Tigers season|1907 season]],<ref name=br/> and started the fifth and final game of the [[1907 World Series]] against the Cubs, but was hitless in three [[at bat]]s as the Tigers lost 2–0; both Cub runs followed successful stolen bases against Archer and pitcher [[George Mullin (baseball)|George Mullin]]. In 1909 he began playing for the Cubs, the team he remained with until 1917; he took over catching duties for [[Johnny Kling]], one of the top players on the Cubs pennant winners of 1906 to 1908, who was taking a year off from baseball to pursue other interests. Archer split time with [[Pat Moran]] during the [[1909 Chicago Cubs season|1909 season]], and with Kling upon his return for the [[1910 Chicago Cubs season|1910 season]].<ref name=br/> He played three games en route to the Cubs' [[1910 World Series]] loss to the [[Philadelphia Athletics]], and after [[double (baseball)|doubling]] with one out, scored the winning run on [[Jimmy Sheckard]]'s hit with two out in the bottom of the 10th inning of Game 4 – the 4–3 victory giving the Cubs their only win in the Series. However, he had only one other hit in the Series, that coming with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 5 when the Cubs were trailing 7–2.

In 1911 Archer won the starting job, and Kling was later that season traded to the [[Boston Rustlers]]. Archer ended up finishing 16th in voting for the first Chalmers Award, the first formal [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player Award]] presented in the major leagues.<ref name=br/> During the [[1912 Chicago Cubs season|1912]] and [[1913 Chicago Cubs season|1913 seasons]], Archer again earned some votes for the Chalmers Award, finishing 22nd in 1912 and 13th in 1913.<ref name=br/> He led the NL in [[assist (baseball)|assists]] in 1912 with 149, but also paced the league with 23 [[error (baseball)|errors]]. However, he began to split time at catcher with [[Roger Bresnahan]] in 1914 and 1915. After playing 77 games in 1916 and only two in 1917, Archer was released by the Cubs. Over the course of the 1918 season, he played for three separate teams. He signed as a free agent with the Pirates on March 10, and played 24 games with them.<ref name=br/> However, he had a [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] of only .155 during that time and was released. He later played for the Brooklyn Robins and Cincinnati Reds for nine games each until his retirement at the end of the season.

In 847 games over 12 seasons, Archer posted a .249 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] (660 hits in 2646 at bats) with 247 [[run (baseball)|runs]], 16 [[home runs]], 299 [[runs batted in]] and 36 [[stolen bases]]. He recorded an overall .972 [[fielding percentage]]. In four World Series games, he hit .143 (2-for-14).<ref name="br" />

After his retirement from baseball, Archer worked as a hog purchaser for the [[Armour and Company|Armour]] meat packing company in Chicago. He received a medal from the [[National Safety Council]] in 1931 after using [[cardiopulmonary resuscitation|prone pressure resuscitation]] to revive two truck drivers who had been overcome by carbon monoxide in the [[Union Stock Yards]].<ref name=obit/> Archer died at St. Mary's Hospital in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]] at the age of 74, due to a blocked coronary artery following treatment for [[Pott's disease|spinal tuberculosis]]. He was interred at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Boone, Iowa, his wife's hometown. He was elected to the [[Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1990.