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Edward Richard Doheny (November 24, 1873 – December 29, 1916) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1895 to 1903. Doheny finished his career with a win–loss record of 75–83. During his last MLB season, he was declared insane and committed to an Lunatic asylum.
In 1896, Doheny went 6–7 with a 4.49 ERA. In 1897, he went 4–4 with a 2.12 ERA. In 1898, Doheny went 7–19 with a 3.68 ERA and led the NL with 19 . In 1899, he went 14–17 with a 4.41 ERA and led the NL with 37 hit by pitches and 21 wild pitches. In 1900, he went 4–14 with a 5.45 ERA. In 1901, he went 2–5 with a 4.50 ERA before the Giants released him in July.
Later that month, Doheny signed with the NL's Pittsburgh Pirates. During the rest of the year, he went 6–2 with a 2.00 ERA and helped the Pirates win the NL championship. In 1902, he went 16–4 with a 2.53 ERA and helped the Pirates win the NL championship again.Seamus Kearney and Tom Simon. "Ed Doheny". sabr.org. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
In July, Doheny left the Pirates and returned to his home in Andover, Massachusetts. He had been acting strangely and was convinced that he was being followed by detectives. As the Pittsburg Post noted on July 29, "his mind is thought to be deranged".DeValeria and DeValeria, pp. 118–119
Doheny returned to the team in August. He pitched well and ended the season with a record of 16–8 and a 3.19 ERA, helping the Pirates win the NL championship. He played his last game on September 7. Doheny continued to suffer from paranoid delusions, and on September 22, his brother took him back home to Andover.DeValeria and DeValeria, p. 122
Doheny was then placed under the care of Dr. E. C. Conroy and a nurse, Oberlin Howarth. Doheny's condition did not improve and was worsened after he read about the Pirates' fourth loss in the 1903 World Series. On the night of October 10, he forcibly removed Conroy from his home. Early the next morning, Doheny attacked Howarth with a cast-iron stove leg and knocked him unconscious. The police arrived, and Doheny held them off while threatening to kill anyone who approached. After an hour, the police finally overpowered him. Doheny was declared insane by doctors and committed to an asylum in Danvers, Massachusetts.DeValeria and DeValeria, p. 134Abrams, Roger I. (2003). The First World Series and the Baseball Fanatics of 1903. Northern University Press. pp. 163–164.
Doheny finished his nine-year MLB career with a 75–83 record, a 3.73 ERA, and 572 . He never recovered from his mental illness and died in an asylum in Medfield, Massachusetts, in 1916.
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