John A. Galvin was a Brooklyn man through and through. He played a single game for the Atlantics of Brooklyn on May 7, 1872, which is how he earned this bio. The Atlantics were playing a bunch of emergency scrubs, it seems. They lost, 23 – 3, and the team made 21 errors in the field.

Baseball bio-researchers believe Galvin arrived in Brooklyn in August, 1842. However, I am convinced that he was older than that given:

(a) he was listed as 30 years old for the 1870 US Census,

(b) he was listed as an umpire for an 1859 game and that a John Galvin registered for the Great War for Slavery in May, 1863, and was listed as 24 years old at the time, and

(c) a John A. Galvin initially registered for military duty in 1861 at the age of 21 and was assigned to Company G of the 51st New York Infantry, but he deserted the Union Army within weeks of being mustered into the ranks.

In truth, he was playing “professionally” for years before that ugly game; there just weren’t modern leagues until 1871. Galvin played organized amateur ball before the war and joined the Atlantics by 1861. Galvin appeared in virtually all of the important Atlantics games of the 1860s and was a member of teams that claimed to be the best of club in the country, including this team from 1865 that finished a second consecutive season undefeated. (I’m pretty sure that John is seated at the lower right, second from the end, with his arm around a teammate. Oh – and this image was used in a photographic card, which is considered by some one of the oldest baseball cards.)

In 1868, Galvin left the Atlantics to join the Mutuals of Brooklyn because he and Dickey Pearce didn’t get along too well. That said, Galvin was known for his hitting prowess, his ability to play most any position on the field, and for being a fine player and his “fair and square” style of play…

After baseball, he worked for the Department of Public Works in Brooklyn (usually as a mason, but also as a sewer inspector) and for a few years he was the superintendent of a truant home (until the Democratic party turned on him, despite his reputation and demonstrated competency). Galvin married the former Mary Jane Scott in 1867; they had six children before Mary passed away in 1890.

Galvin died in his home on April 20, 1904 and is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Notes:

US Civil War Service Abstracts
US Civil War Registration Documents
New York Marriage Abstracts
1870, 1880, 1900 US Census

“Osceola and Atlantic (Jamaica),” Brooklyn Evening Star, July 19, 1859: 3.
“Oriental vs. Powhatan,” Brooklyn Evening Star, September 21, 1860: 2.
“Out-Door Sports,” Brooklyn Eagle, November 8, 1861: 2.
“Base Ball,” Brooklyn Union, August 24, 1868: 3.
“The ‘Atlantics’ in Boston,” Brooklyn Eagle, September 29, 1965″ 2.
“Base Ball,” Brooklyn Union, March 24, 1868: 4.
“Atlantics vs. Bostons,” Brooklyn Times, May 8, 1872: 4.
“The Truent Home,” Brooklyn Eagle, April 23, 1878: 4.
“Dismissing a Faithful Servant,” Brooklyn Eagle, January 7, 1879: 2.
“Aldermen,” Brooklyn Daily Times, January 6, 1880: 2.
“Knickerbocker Avenue Sewer,” Brooklyn Eagle, October 15, 1886: 4.
“John A. Galvin,” Brooklyn Citizen, April 23, 1904: 4.