finalyear death_date debutyear statvalue finalteam birth_date hofmethod hofdate death_place finaldate image statlabel debutteam name throws birth_place debutdate bats position article_title
1915 4 december 1944 1897 .279 26 530 chicago cubs 11 june 1879 veterans committee 1945 toledo , ohio october 3 roger -rrb- -lrb- loc -rrb- . jpg bresnahan , st. louis , nl -lrb- baseball batting average home runs runs batted in washington senators roger bresnahan right toledo , ohio august 27 right catcher / manager roger bresnahan

roger bresnahan

roger philip bresnahan -lrb- june 11 , 1879 -- december 4 , 1944 -rrb- , nicknamed `` the duke of tralee '' , was an american player and manager in major league baseball -lrb- mlb -rrb- .
as a player , bresnahan competed in mlb for the washington senators -lrb- 1897 -rrb- , chicago orphans -lrb- 1900 -rrb- , baltimore orioles -lrb- 1901 -- 1902 -rrb- , new york giants -lrb- 1902 -- 1908 -rrb- , st. louis cardinals -lrb- 1909 -- 1912 -rrb- and chicago cubs -lrb- 1913 -- 1915 -rrb- .
bresnahan also managed the cardinals -lrb- 1909 -- 1912 -rrb- and cubs -lrb- 1915 -rrb- .
he was a member of the 1905 world series champions .
bresnahan opened his mlb career as a pitcher .
he also served as an outfielder , before becoming a regular catcher .
for his mlb career , bresnahan had a .279 batting average in 4,480 at bats and a 328 -- 432 managerial win-loss record .
bresnahan popularized the use of protective equipment in baseball .
he introduced shin guards to be worn by a catcher in 1907 .
he also developed the first batting helmet .
after retiring as a player , bresnahan remained active in professional baseball .
he owned the minor league toledo mud hens and coached for the giants and detroit tigers .
he was elected to the national baseball hall of fame in 1945 by the veterans committee .
