O\'Day umpired in ten World Series – second only to Bill Klem\'s total of 18 – including five of the first seven played, and was behind the plate for the first modern World Series game in 1903. Retiring at age 68 years, 2 months, he remains the oldest umpire in major league history – a fact which was not known until recently, as he routinely shaved five to seven years from his true age throughout his career. His 3,986 total games as an umpire ranked third in major league history when he retired, and his 2,710 games as the plate umpire still rank second in major league history to Klem\'s total of 3,544. He is largely known for his controversial decision in a pivotal 1908 game, a ruling that still causes debate today. O\'Day interrupted his umpiring career twice for single seasons as a manager, leading the Cincinnati Reds in 1912 and the Chicago Cubs in 1914. He remains the only person ever to serve full seasons in the NL as a player, manager and umpire. O\'Day was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2013.\n', '

O\'Day was born in Chicago, the son of railroad engineer James O\'Day (c. 1824 – 1885) and his wife Margaret (c. 1822 – 1895), who were immigrants from Ireland and were both deaf. The couple had at least seven children: Daniel (c. 1846 – 1898), James Jr. (c. 1854 – before 1895), Catherine (c. 1856 – 1901), Henry, Margaret (c. 1864 – before 1895), Mary McNamara (c. 1866 – 1924), and Joseph (1870–1885). The O\'Days originally settled in Buffalo, New York; by the mid-1850s, they had moved to Cincinnati, and they relocated to Chicago around 1858. Henry was born in the vicinity of Ewing Street (later renamed Cabrini Street) and Jefferson Street, which was just one block north of the starting point of the Chicago Fire in 1871; however, by 1870, the family had moved about two miles west to 1022 W. Jackson Street (renumbered in 1909 as 2433 W. Jackson Boulevard), which remained the family residence until the early 20th century. O\'Day worked as a steam fitter in Chicago before entering organized baseball.\n', '

O\'Day played minor league baseball with the Bay City club and the Toledo Blue Stockings of the Northwestern League in 1883, and he reached the major leagues when Toledo joined the American Association (AA) the following year. With Toledo, he played alongside Fleet Walker, the first African American to play in the major leagues. O\'Day made his major league debut on May 2, 1884, and served as the team\'s second pitcher behind Tony Mullane. In 41 games pitched for the Blue Stockings, he had 9 wins, 28 losses, a 3.75 earned run average (ERA), and 163 strikeouts; he is also one of three pitchers who have been retroactively credited with a save in the AA that season. In addition to pitching, O\'Day appeared in 23 games as a position player that season, primarily in left field; he also made appearances at the other outfield positions, as well as at first base and third base. However, he made only 13 other non-pitching appearances in the field in later years, including eight games at shortstop in 1887-88. In 1885, he split playing time with the Pittsburgh Alleghenys of the AA and the Washington Nationals of the Eastern League. O\'Day had a record of 5–7 for the Alleghenys; his playing time was limited because he was caring for his sick father. He made only five starts after May 11, and left the team for the last time after his July 6 start; his father died on July 9 at age 61. In the meantime, the Chicago White Stockings had opened West Side Park on June 6, less than a mile and a half from the O\'Day residence. In 15 games with Washington in the Eastern League, he had a record of 13–2 and a 0.74 ERA. On September 5 of that year, his younger brother Joseph died at age 15 from injuries he had suffered two days earlier after falling from the front car of a roller coaster. At the end of the season, the Nationals folded, and O\'Day joined a Louisville ball club; no record exists of him having played any games for them.\n', '

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