On May 4, 1871, Art Allison was the first player to strike out in a major league game when the Forest City Club of Cleveland faced the Kekiongas of Fort Wayne on Opening Day.  Leading off the second inning, he missed three straight pitches from Bobby Matthews, but reached first base because of a dropped third strike error.

Arthur Algernon Allison was born on January 29, 1849 in Philadelphia to John and Elizabeth (Clark) Allison, the youngest of eight children.  The seventh child was Doug Allison, famous as the catcher of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings among other major league teams.  According to North America Family Histories (accessed via Ancestry.com), John Allison came to the US from Halifax, England around 1827 and was engaged in the cotton and wool industries.  That same book tells us that Elizabeth’s father was in the English army and once served on St. Helena when Napolean was imprisoned there.

Art was an outfielder and could play first base in a pinch.  He first played major league ball with the Forest City club of Cleveland.  He had been with the Forest City club even before the National Association became a “major league” – I found an article noting his being a member of that team in 1870. In his two major league seasons, he proved to be a slap hitter producing few extra base hits.  He then joined the Resolutes of Elizabethtown for 1873 where he had perhaps his best offensive season, batting .320, but with only two extra base hits (both doubles) and no walks.  It was also the first time that both Allison brothers played on the same team – Art in the outfield and Doug behind the plate (and managing).  However, the Resolutes closed up shop before the season ended – Jersey fans stopped supporting a team that was 2 – 21 on the season.  As such, Art joined a semi-professional team called The Eastons for a season, then returned to the National Association in 1875 where he signed with the Washington Olympics.  Weeks later, however, Washington folded and he signed with Hartford where he would be teammates with his brother again. His reputation as an honest egg was confirmed when he was used as an umpire during the 1875 season in a league game between Boston and New Haven.

When the National League formed, he was with Louisville – but a far cry from the hitter he had been from 1871 to 1873.  On the other hand, it’s with Louisville we learn that Allison was a rather lean 6′ 0″ and 168 pounds. We digress… After that he spent a year with the St. Paul Red Caps, the first professional team in that city.  He had a team photo from that team (which would be fun to find – something in the neighborhood can be seen here). Also worth noting, at various points in his career Allison served as a reporter of sorts for the newspapers.

After his season with the Red Caps, he signed with a club in Auburn, NY for 1878.  He didn’t stay long with Auburn – he was released in early May and called a “Jonah” (bad luck; jinx) in the local newspapers.   By June he was playing in the International League with the Forest City Club of Cleveland again. Soon after, however, he was out of professional baseball and working in the nation’s capital.

Allison took a government job in Washington D.C. – he spent some 25 years as a typesetter in a government printing office.  His brother, Doug, also clerked in the nation’s capital. Along the way, he married Nellie (Ellen) Stanley, an English immigrant herself, and they had two sons, Albert and John.  (John had an interesting life himself, first in manufacturing, and then later in the military, having joined the Army in 1934 and becoming a commander in the US Naval Reserves until his retirement.)

Allison was crossing the street after leaving work on February 25, 1916 – it was a blinding snow – and he was accidentally hit and run over by a large truck.  His crushed body was taken to a nearby drug store until an ambulance could take him to a hospital, but he died in transit.  He’s buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington.

Notes:

US Census Data (1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890. 1900, 1910)
FindAGrave.com
Baseball-Reference.com

“Base Ball,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 8, 1870: 8
“The Finest Game on Record,” New York Clipper, May 13, 1871.
“Base Ball Notes,” Brooklyn Union, January 15, 1874: 2.
“Base Ball Notes,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 23, 1876: 4.
“The Louisvilles,” Chicago Tribune, April 16, 1876: 6.
“Their Whereabouts,” Harrisburg Telegraph, March 19, 1878: 4.
“Contracts and Releases,” Chicago Tribune, May 5, 1878: 7.
“The Clevelanders Win,” Cincinnati Enquirer, June 4, 1878: 8.
“Auto Accident Fatal to Arthur A. Allison,” Washington D.C. Evening Star, February 26, 1916: 12.
Obit, Petersburg, Va. Progress-Index, October 3, 1958: 15.