Wakefield Hall of Fame

Joseph Casey

Joseph Felix Casey was born August 17,1887 and graduated from Wakefield High School in 1905. He attended Boston College and later played for the Detroit Tigers and the Washington Senators. On October 1, 1909, at the age of 22, Joe played his first game in Major League Baseball. His main position was catcher but he also played outfield positions. Joe was one of the fortunate few to play in a Major League World Series in his rookie year of 1909 when the Detroit Tigers team lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 4 games to 3. After three years playing for Detroit, he played 6 years for the popular Industrial League which was part of an extensive minor league system. Mr. Casey finished up his career back in the big leagues playing for the Washington Senators. Among his better known teammates were the great Ty Cobb in Detroit and arguably the greatest pitcher ever in baseball, Walter Johnson, in Washington.

Mr. Casey did play in a notable series against Cuban Teams in 1910 in and around Havana, Cuba in October and December of 1909. These games were commemorated by a famous, rare and very expensive set of tobacco cards advertising the still renowned and popular Punch Cigar Company. Tobacco cards were the predecessor to today’s baseball cards but were produced in much smaller quantities and promoted many different companies. In that set is a Joe Casey Card along with many of the Cuban players from The Almendares Base Ball Club and The Habana Base Ball Club as well as players from the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Athletics. According to an expert in the field, even in bad condition, these cards would sell for $1000.00-$1200.00 for commons, $10,000-$12000.00 for stars and over $50,000.00 for a MLB Hall of Fame player.

Since 1905, with one exception, Joe Casey is the only Wakefield High School graduate to have played for Major League Baseball, the most senior player ever inducted into this Hall of Fame and will probably be the Wakefield athlete with the most expensive sports card ever.

Joe Casey’s Official Major League Statistics

Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG *OPS+ TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP 
 1909 21 DET AL 3 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .167 .000 -48 0 0 0 
 1910 22 DET AL 23 62 3 12 3 0 0 2 1 2 .194 .231 .242 44 15 1 1 
 1911 23 DET AL 15 33 2 5 0 0 0 3 0 3 .152 .222 .152 3 5 0  0 
 1918 30 WSH AL  9 17 3 4 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 .235 .316 .235 67 4 0 0 
 4 Seasons 50 117 9 21 3 0 0 7 1 0 8 2 .179 .238 .205 31 24 1 0 0 1 0
 

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