Blaine Durbin Explained

Blaine Durbin
Position:Outfielder
Bats:Left
Throws:Left
Birth Date:September 10, 1886
Birth Place:Lamar, Missouri
Death Place:Kirkwood, Missouri
Debutleague:MLB
Debutdate:April 24
Debutyear:1907
Debutteam:Chicago Cubs
Finalleague:MLB
Finaldate:June 30
Finalyear:1909
Finalteam:Pittsburgh Pirates
Statleague:MLB
Stat1label:Games played
Stat1value:32
Stat2label:Batting average
Stat2value:.275
Stat3label:Runs batted in
Stat3value:0
Teams:

Blaine Alphonsus Durbin (September 10, 1886  - September 11, 1943), nicknamed "Danny Dreamer,"[1] [2] [3] was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Lamar, Missouri.

Major League career

Durbin made his Major League debut on April 24, 1907, for the Chicago Cubs.[4] That season, he appeared in five games as a pitcher, going 0–1 with a save. He also played the outfield in five games that season. Durbin played for the Cubs during their 1907 and 1908 pennant-winning seasons but did not play in either World Series. Before being traded to the Cincinnati Reds on January 18, 1909 (together with Tom Downey for outfielder John Kane), Durbin had a batting average of only .250 in 14 games,[4] and on May 28, after appearing in only six games for Cincinnati, he was shipped to the Pittsburgh Pirates, doing little more than ride the bench before being released scarcely one month later.[4] Durbin appeared only once (and for the final time in a Major League uniform), as a pinch-runner representing the potential tying run in the ninth inning of a 3–2 loss to Chicago, on June 30, 1909, in the first game ever played at Forbes Field.[5]

Later life

After playing a few years in Minor League Baseball, Durbin retired as a baseball player. Just one day after his 57th birthday on September 11, 1943, Durbin died in Kirkwood, Missouri.[4] His burial is located at Saint Peters Cemetery in Kirkwood at St. Louis County in Missouri. Durbin was memorialized as the protagonist in the fictional novel The Best Team Ever (2008) by Alan Alop and Doc Noel .

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.mediafire.com/view/ldb3atheev6vl2n "Story of the Way Durbin Got the Name Danny Dreamer"
  2. Dryden, Charles. "CUBS "FIT" AFTER ONE REHEARSAL: Three Hours' Work in Morning Puts Team in Shape for Today's Game; DIAMOND WELL CREASED; Vicksburg Manager Has Troubles with Steam Roller, but Triumphs in the End; Cubs Already Are 'Fit'; Evans an Epworth Leaguer; Walsh Has Hearty Breakfast". Chicago Daily Tribune. March 15, 1908. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  3. http://www.mediafire.com/view/px2yerb7eyl4cd6 "Kaws Land One; Danny Durbin's Dream Comes True in Second Game"
  4. Web site: Blaine Durbin Stats. Baseball-Reference.com. 2022-01-11.
  5. http://www.mediafire.com/view/muxd4f2yoxa3qlb "Pirates Lose the First Game Played on Forbes Field; Pittsburgh Loses to Champion Chicago"