Ed Abbaticchio Edward James " Batty " Abbaticchio ( April 15 , 1877 – January 6 , 1957 ) was the first Major League Baseball player and first professional football player of Italian ancestry . Career . Football . Born in Latrobe , Pennsylvania , Abbatticchio was among the first wave of professional football players . He began his professional football career with the Latrobe Athletic Association in 1895 , where he starred as a fullback and kicker . In 1896 , Abbatticchio kicked a 23 - yard kicked field goal to help give Latrobe a 5 - 0 win over the West Virginia Mountaineers . After their season ended , Abbatticchio and several Latrobe players such as John Brallier and Harry Ryan traveled to Punxsutawney , Pennsylvania and played for that town ' s local team against a team from DuBois . The game lasted only 12 minutes before a riot ended play with Punxsutawney leading , 12 - 0 . In 1897 , Abbatticchio reportedly kicked several field goals against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club , which resulted in a in a 47 - 0 Latrobe win , and the worst defeat in the Pittsburgh Athletic Club team ' s history . At the season ' s end , a Pittsburgh - base football expert picked an all - western Pennsylvania team from among the area ' s amateur , professional , and college teams . Abbatticchio and two other Latrobe players , tackle Harry Ryan and end Walter Okeson , were choosen to the team . On November 30 , 1899 , during a Thanksgiving Day game against Indiana Normal School ( today Indiana University of Pennsylvania ) , Abbaticchio was noted for his runs in a 35 - 0 Latrobe win . In 1900 , in a two - game series against the Greensburg Athletic Association , he was credited for a 23 - yard game - winning field goal kick in the first game . Meanwhile in the second game , Abbatticchio kicked 12 - yard field goal , scored a touchdown , and kicked a goal after , in a 11 - 0 Latrobe win . He is credited by Fielding H . Yost with developing the first spiral punt , enabling the ball to travel farther . Abbey was paid $ 50 a game for Latrobe Baseball . Abbatticchio was primarily a shortstop and second baseman , though he also saw playing time in the outfield and at third base . He began his baseball career with a semi - professional team from Greensburg , Pennsylvania in . Shortly afterwards , he made his Major League debut , in the National League , on September 4 , 1897 for the Philadelphia Phillies . He played in three games for the Phillies that season and played another 25 for them in . In 1899 , he played in the Western League for the Minneapolis Millers and in 1900 in the American Association for the Millers and the Milwaukee Brewers . For the and seasons , Abbaticchio moved on to play with the Nashville Vols of the Southern Association . During those two seasons , he led the league in batting with averages of . 360 and . 367 , respectively . For the next two years , he played once again in the National League for the Boston Beaneaters . He had initially decided to leave baseball in , choosing instead to run a hotel in Latrobe . A year later , the Pittsburgh Pirates convinced Abbaticchio to join them for their 1907 season . He then stayed with Pirates until the 1910 season , when he joined the Boston Doves . During his time in Pittsburgh , Ed played on the Pirates ' s 1909 World Series team . However in the World Series he struck out in his only at - bat , as a pinch hitter . However the season prior , on October 4th , Ed hit a ball into the stands in game against the Chicago Cubs , which was called foul by umpire Hank O ' Day , who also ruled on the infamous Merkle ' s Boner . The Pirates ' protested the call which would have been a possible home run or triple , and brought the tying run to the plate . Had the Pirates ' won the game , they would ' ve also captured the 1908 National League pennant . The hit eventually evolved into an urban legend that had Abbaticchio ' s foul ball striking a woman in the stands , to where she required hospital care , and which resulted in her filing a lawsuit against the Cubs . The story of the lawsuit has since been debunked as fiction . Abbaticchio was a good friend of Pirates ' great Honus Wagner . The two played alongside each other in the Pirate infield . Wagner once called Abbaticchio a " great second baseman with whom he had the honor to play with . " Wagner also went on to say that he was " an ever lasting credit to baseball , to Pittsburgh , and his home section of Latrobe . " Statistically was an above - average fielder and base thief . He died in Fort Lauderdale , Florida in 1957 .