Charlie Luskey got in eleven games with Washington in the inaugural American League season. He didn’t hit well enough (.195) or field well enough at catcher or left field (7 errors) to warrant more than those eleven games.

Charles Milton Luskey was born in Washington, D. C. on April 6, 1876, the second child of eleven children born to John Richard and Mary Elizabeth (Starwhite) Luskey. John was a police officer and laborer in the capitol city; Mary Elizabeth was busy raising a large family.

Luskey learned the game among the amateur teams of Washington, eventually advancing to the Walkaways, a higher level amateur nine, until being signed to play professionally in Norfolk in 1895. (That said, the Portsmouth Star ridiculed his signing, saying “What Norfolk patrons pay to see is professional ball, and Owner O’Neill should cast his lines out for members of the ‘profesh’ and not novices that can be rented for a puny price.”) Oddly, after another amateur season in Washington, Portsmouth gave Luskey a two-game tryout in September, 1896.

Luskey landed in Asheville for 1897, having one of the more concussive days on a diamond. In the second inning of a game at Knoxville on May 27, 1897, Luskey hit a home run – one claimed to be the highest on record. The Knoxville Daily Journal said that it “…cleared the telephone poles and wires outside the fence {before} landing in the Mechanicsville corn patch.” Four innings later, Luskey was hit on the left side of his head with a fastball which knocked him “insensible” and out of the game. Then it was on to Bradford and Cape May for 1898. In 1900, while with Portsmouth, Luskey rapped a triple off a nervous Christy Mathewson, who was pitching for Norfolk at the time.

This meandering between amateur ball and low level minor leagues continued into 1901 – but something clicked that year. Luskey’s batting .313 for Waterbury in the Connecticut State League got the attention of Senators management and he was given a late season tryout. In his first game, he started a bit nervously, but settled down to get two hits including a triple against Boston. The game ended in a 6 – 6 tie, but only because of rookie misfortune in the second inning. When Jake Stahl hit a long drive into the right-centerfield gap, centerfielder Irv Waldron collided into Luskey who appeared ready to catch the ball. Instead of the second inning ending without a Boston run, Boston cleared the bases and the next batter hit a two run homer.

As mentioned at the start, Luskey’s performance didn’t merit a contract for 1902. So, Luskey spent the next twelve years working his way down the ladder – starting with some good minor league teams like Buffalo in the Eastern League and finishing with a number of low level state league teams. Baseball-Reference.com suggests his professional days ended around 1913.

When not a baseball player, he was an upholsterer for a decorating firm, which he did into his 60s. In 1918, he married Bertha (Bella) Dell Compson – then known as Bertha Morsheimer. It was his first marriage and her second. They lived together for some 44 years in Washington; the marriage did not include children.

Charles Luskey died in Bethesda, Maryland on December 20, 1962 and was buried in Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Brentwood, Maryland. His wife joined him in death the next year.

Notes:

1880, 1900, 1920, 1940, 1950 US Census
World War I Draft Registration
Baseball-Reference.com
FindAGrave.com

“Norfolk Baseball Notes,” Portsmouth (VA) Star, June 27, 1895: 3.
“Played Fence Ball,” Knoxville Daily Journal, May 28, 1897: 8.
“Resulted in a Tie,” Washington Evening Star, September 13, 1901: 11.
“Marriage Licenses,” Baltimore Sun, August 11, 1918: 17.

Image of Luskey was uploaded to Luskey’s FindaGrave.com profile by Gordon Brett Echols.