Sport: Baseball
Born: February 7, 1893
Died: October 27, 1969
Town: Paterson, New Jersey
Charles Devine Jamieson was born February 7, 1893 in Paterson, NJ. He grew up in the city’s Irish-American community, and over the years donated his time and money to a variety good causes in Paterson, including the fireman’s widows and orphans fund. Charlie stood only 5’8″ and weighed 165 pounds.
Charlie was a star pitcher for Paterson High School. He signed a professional contract at the age of 19 with Buffalo of the International League and won a total of 27 games in 1912 and 1913 for the Bisons. In 1914, the team began using him in the outfield and he proved to be a consistent .300 hitter. In 1915, Charlie’ and teammate Joe Judge had their contracts purchased by the Washington Senators. Charlie was a bench player for the Senators for two seasons.
After a slow start in 1917, Charlie was traded to the Philadelphia A’s and became their everyday right fielder. In the spring of 1919, he was part of a trade between the A’s and Indians and became Cleveland’s everyday leftfielder in 1920. That season, the team won its first pennant. Charlie batted .333 in the World Series, as Cleveland beat Brooklyn in six games.
Charlie patrolled left for the Indians throughout the 1920s. He was a fleet-footed and acrobatic outfielder who had an extremely strong arm. In 1928, he gunned down 22 baserunners and participated in two triple plays.
As a leadoff hitter, few American Leaguers could match Charlie. He batted .300 or better almost every year, with a high of .359 in 1924. He finished third in the MVP voting that season, behind Hall of Famers Walter Johnson and Eddie Collins. In 1923, he led the AL with 222 hits and had a 23-game hitting streak. Charlie retired as a player following the 1933 season, at the age of 40, with 1,990 hits and a .303 lifetime average.
During the off-seasons, Jamieson often competed in semipro games around Paterson under the assumed name of O’Reilly. Everyone knew who Charlie was, but they let him play because he was so generous. He remained in Paterson after his baseball career. Charlie died in 1969 at the age of 76.