Joe Start, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Joe Start

Major League Baseball player

Date of Birth: 14-Oct-1842

Place of Birth: New York City, New York, United States

Date of Death: 27-Mar-1927

Profession: baseball player

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Libra

Joseph Start (October 14, 1842 – March 27, 1927), nicknamed "Old Reliable", was one of the most durable regulars of baseball's earliest era, and one of the top first basemen of his time.
He started his career in 1859, before the advent of organized leagues and paid professionalism, and continued to play regularly until 1886, when he was 43.
Writing in the SABR Nineteenth Century Committee's Nineteen Century Notes (Summer 2018), baseball historian Bill Ryczek wrote: "There have been a number of 20th-century players who had long careers, but the game that Tommy John played during his [1963] rookie year was very much like the game he played during his final season in 1989.
When 16-year-old Joe Start began playing in 1859, pitchers threw underhand with a stiff wrist from behind a line 45 feet from home plate, a fly ball caught on one bounce was an out, and gloves were unheard of, as were professional ballplayers.
During his final season, pitchers threw over-hand or sidearm with velocity that was unimaginable in 1859.
The one-bounce out was 20 years in the grave, and most players wore fielding gloves.
All of the top players were professionals, and baseball had become big business, far removed from the amateur affair of 1859.
Despite the dramatic changes in the game of baseball, Joe Start remained a steady, productive player, adapting to the changes as quickly as they appeared.
He was a regular until his final year."