Having the opportunity to play major league baseball has been the dream of many young ballplayers. Two Danville, Pennsylvania athletes had careers that were fleeting moments on their “Field of Dreams.” Baseball’s Reference Guide says Art “Reddy” McCoy played for Lewistown, Danville, Hazleton, and Mahanoy City beginning at the age of twenty-one, between 1886 and 1889, before playing for Chattanooga in the Southern League and then the Washington D.C. ballclub in 1889.

Based on stories from the sports pages of Chattanooga newspapers in April of 1889, McCoy displayed talent on the field for the Lookouts as a pitcher and in the batter’s box.

That may have been the reason he got the “Call” in July of that year. Reddy McCoy appeared in two baseball games for Washington in 1889. The Washington Nationals, sometimes referred to as the Washington Statesmen or Senators, were a professional baseball team in the mid to late 1880s. They existed for four years as a member of the National League (NL) from 1886 to 1889.-Wikipedia

McCoy took the field for Washington on July 8 and 9 at the age of 24. Baseball’s Reference Guide indicates he played fourteen innings at second base. He had nine defensive chances in the field, recording six putouts, two assists, and one error. McCoy also had eight plate appearances, walking twice, striking out once, and getting no hits.

By the way, the Washington club won just 41 games that year and lost 83. It should be noted that one of the players on that team was a man by the name of Cornelius McGillicuddy, better known as Connie Mack. He played 98 games that year and was listed as a catcher, first baseman, and right fielder. Mack went on to a Hall of Fame Career as manager of the Philadelphia Athletics, coaching that team for its first fifty years. He retired at the age of 87 in 1950, managing over 7700 games, with a victory total of 3,731, almost 1,000 more than any other manager.

Art McCoy was released by Washington after those two ball games in 1889. His name appears in Baseball’s Reference Guide, playing for both Danville and Harrisburg in 1892 and 1893.

McCoy was born in Danville On July 15, 1864, and died at the age of 39 on March 22, 1904, at his home on Lower Mulberry Street in Danville. He is buried at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Danville.

The major league baseball career of Danville native William “Bill” Yerrick was also a short one. He pitched in a total of five ballgames for the Boston Beaneaters of the National League in 1895 and 1896 under manager Frank Selee. I found a reference to Yerrick in a February 15,1896 article in the Chicago Chronicle. As I often do in my wandering through the pages of Newspapers.com, I will select a state or city, type “Danville Pennsylvania” and see what I can find. I often come upon a news story, providing a glimpse into the events, places, and people of Montour County.

A sketch of Yerrick, who also played under the name Banks, is part of the 1896 Chicago Chronicle story. The story reads like this:

Boston, Mass. February 14th – Baseball enthusiasts are rejoicing over the acquisition of two such good players as Yerrick and Collins by the Boston triumvirate.

During the fading end of last season, Manager Selee called Billy Yerrick of the Portland team into service, and under the name of Banks he pitched a few games. He put up the appearance of a winner, and on Selee’s advice, he was held in reservation by the magnates.

Yerrick is a fledgling at the game, that is professionally, as he began his career in 1890 with an amateur team in Berwick, Pa., playing second base. He was somewhat of a success as a pitcher that year, and the next (year) he entered the box (Pitcher's mound) for that team and has been pitching since. In 1893 he was with the Bloomsburg team of the River League in Pennsylvania, and in 1894 he joined the Lock Havens, then the strongest amateur team in Pennsylvania. Last year was his first professional engagement, and he joined the Salem team in the New England Association, then managed by Frank Leonard. When the association went to pieces Leonard went to manage the Portlands of the New England League, and he took Yerrick with him. He made a good showing with the club, and at the close of the season was one of the finest twirlers in the league.

An instance of Yerrick’s effectiveness was against New Bedford in a game in that city on August 13^th, when he retired the club with only two safe hits. The event was the pitching record of the year in the New England league. While pitching for the Salem team against Lawrence at Salem on May 8, 1895, he prevented the team from securing more than two safe hits. His feat was especially noteworthy against the New Bedford team, as such good batters as Walters, Weihl, Charles Nyce, Fred Doe, Sharpe, the Western league Slugger, Murphy and Delaney were members of the club.

It was late in the season when Yerrick was given a trial by manager Selee, and under the name of Banks he pitched against Washington. He delivers a swift ball and changes is pace very often. He is at all times cool in the box and steady with men on bases. At present, he is at his home in Danville, Pa.

As I wrote this article, I couldn’t help but think of the name of Archibald “Moonlight” Graham in the movie Field of Dreams starring Kevin Costner. “Moonlight” Graham was an actual player in the major leagues for one brief moment. He had played minor league baseball for seven seasons before getting that fleeting shot in the majors[T1]. 

Graham started the 1905 season with the Binghamton Bingoes in the Class B New York State League. He was purchased by the Giants, who had won the National League pennant the previous year (and had refused to play the Boston Americans in a World Series), reporting to the team on May 23, 1905. On June 29, the Giants were the visiting team against the Brooklyn Superbas at Washington Park. At the conclusion of the eighth inning, Graham replaced right fielder George Browne. In the top of the ninth inning, Graham was on deck when Claude Elliott flied out, resulting in the third and final out. Graham played the bottom of the ninth in right field, never having the ball hit in his direction. That game turned out to be his only appearance in the major leagues. – Wikipedia

Yerrick’s time in major league baseball spanned just five ball games. He won the only game in which he appeared in 1895. Pitching seven innings he struck out four batters. The following year he appeared in four games, three as a starter, and failed to win a ballgame. That would be the end of Yerrick’s major league career.

He played some minor league baseball with Portland, Salem, and Haverhill in the New England Independent League in 1895-86. His final appearances as a ballplayer in the minors included games with Wilkes-Barre and Montreal in the Eastern League between 1896 and 1898. 

After his brief “cup of coffee” in the big leagues, and minor league baseball, Yerrick returned home, and he spent his life working in the iron mills. But his love for the game of baseball remained with him.  For many years, Bill Yerrick served as an umpire in the old Susquehanna League. He was a lifelong resident of Danville. Born on February 26, 1874, Yerrick passed away on September 8^th, 1936, at the home of his daughter Mrs. Edward Kear on Upper Mulberry Street. The Danville Morning News reported that one of his daughters, Mrs. Daniel Himmen of Mill Street, was on a trip when he died of a heart attack. Efforts by police, as well as U.S. and Canadian customs officials, were unsuccessful in locating her before her father’s funeral. Yerrick is buried at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Danville, Pennsylvania.

Oddly enough, for Archibald “Moonlight” Graham, there is also a northeastern Pennsylvania connection.

Graham returned to the New York State League, appearing with the Scranton Miners for the rest of the season and in 1906. For the 1905 minor league season, playing for two teams, he hit .288 in 64 games. The following season, he hit a career-best .329, split between two teams: Scranton, where he hit .336 in 124 games; and the Memphis Egyptians of the Class A Southern Association, where he hit .262 in a dozen games. He returned to Scranton for the 1907 and 1908 seasons, where he hit .285 and .263 in 131 and 130 games, respectively. Graham ranked second in batting average for the New York State League, losing the 1906 batting title by four points. – Wikipedia

“Doc” Graham as he later became known, received his medical degree from the University of Maryland and began practicing medicine in Chisholm, Minnesota where he served the community for fifty years. He died in Chisholm in 1965.

 [T1] Graham’s fictional character in the movie “Field of Dreams” offers a line that has more than a ring of truth for men like Art “Reddy” McCoy, Bill Yerrick, and all of us.

“You know we just don’t realize the most significant moments of our lives when they’re happening. Back then I thought, well, there’ll be other days. I didn’t realize that that would be the only day.” -Moonlight Graham