Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame

Class of 2011

Big Ed Walsh

  • Baseball’s all-time ERA leader (1.82)
  • One of the most dominant pitchers of the early 20th century
  • His 1908 season (40-15, with a 1.42 ERA) ranks among the greatest ever
  • Inducted into Cooperstown in 1946
  • Personifies great, but overlooked Irish American in the game of baseball

John McGraw

  • Managed the NY Giants for 31 years, won 10 pennants and three World Series
  • Dominant figure in early baseball; inducted into Cooperstown in 1937
  • As a player, he hit .334 lifetime and stole 436 bases
  • Managed in the first World Series and the inaugural All Star Game in 1933
  • His 2,763 managerial victories rank second only to Connie Mack

Terry Cashman

  • The Balladeer of Baseball"
  • Best known for his hit song Talkin' Baseball, inspired by 1950s icons Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Duke Snider, which struck a chord with fans during the 1981 baseball strike
  • He has revised Talkin' Baseball with new lyrics for every Major League team
  • Played in the Detroit Tigers organization in the early 1960s
  • Born Dennis Minogue in New York City, his Irish roots are in Co. Clare

Nolan Ryan

  • The "Ryan Express," Baseball’s All-Time Strikeout King (5,714)
  • Holds records for seasons played (27), no hitters (7) and strikeouts in a season (383)
  • Member of the 1969 Mets, MLB’s “All-Century Team”, and the Baseball Hall of Fame (1999)
  • Won 324 games for the Mets, Angels, Astros  and Rangers
  • Part-owner and team president of the Texas Rangers

Chuck Lennon

  • Former player, coach and lifetime fan of Fighting Irish baseball
  • College teammate of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski
  • Exemplifies Notre Dame spirit, served 30 years as director of the university’s alumni association
  • Lennon and his wife, Joan, have five children, three of whom are Notre Dame graduates
  • Family roots in Athlone, Co. Westmeath

Gene Monahan & Steve Donohue

  • Longtime trainers for the New York Yankees
  • Named MLB’s best trainers by the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainer Society in 1990 and 2010
  • Have attended to players on numerous World Championship teams
  • Monahan, who is proud of his Irish roots, is a throat cancer survivor and one of three employees to span the entire length of George Steinbrenner's ownership
  • Donohue, whose ancestors hailed from Cork and Wexford, has worked for the Yankees since 1986