O'Rourke Statue Unveiled, Dedicated at Harbor Yard

"Baseball is for all creeds and nationalities," declared "Orator Jim" O'Rourke, clearly a man ahead of his time, in 1910.

On Friday evening, this Baseball Hall of Famer, humanist and native son of Bridgeport became a man for the ages when his statue of clay and bronze was dedicated on the plaza outside the Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport. A crowd of several hundred, including civic dignitaries, former Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent and perhaps the largest gathering of O'Rourke descendants, was present for the ceremonies.

The unveiling, appropriately, was placed in the hands of Susan Clinard, the West Haven-based sculptor who fabricated the 5-foot, 8-inch statue this winter, and Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch.

"We are here to honor a great gentleman – and gentleman is the word," said Vincent, who like O'Rourke, is a Connecticut native with Irish roots and graduated from the Yale Law School. "There was one major difference between us," he continued, grinning. "He could play the game."

O'Rourke's baseball accomplishments are well-documented. Playing with the Boston Red Caps, he recorded the first hit in National League history on April 22, 1876; 2,303 more were to follow and he concluded his 19-year career with a .310 average. At various times he topped the league in home runs, hits, runs scored and triples.

So well-rounded were his skills that he played all nine positions during the game's formative years, although most often he could be found in left field or at catcher. Incredibly, at age 54, O'Rourke caught one game for the 1904 New York Giants – becoming the oldest position player in the game's history. He even collected a single in four at bats that day.

After his major league career ended, this mustachioed gentleman stayed connected to the game as the owner-manager-sometimes player of the minor league Bridgeport Orators. He led the club to the Connecticut League pennant in 1904. Nearly a century would elapse before another Bridgeport team, the Bluefish, won the city's second professional championship, in 1999.

Finch, a baseball fan and Detroit Tigers aficionado, was behind the project to honor the Park City's finest athlete from the outset. He spoke of the O'Rourke family home, "which stood alone on the Steel Point peninsula for the last decade" before it met the wrecking ball.

"That house was a placeholder for our history," he said. "Now he is taking his place in our history and will be here forever. Hundreds of thousands of children – mine and yours – will walk past his statue" into the ballpark.

After Vincent concluded his remarks, Finch presented the former commissioner the key to the city.

Bernie Crowley, president of First Hit Inc., the organization that spearheaded the creation of the statue, termed O'Rourke "the greatest athlete to come out of Bridgeport – hands down." Few would argue with that statement. Neither basketball's Charles Smith and John Bagley nor football's Chet Gladchuk reached hall of fame heights in their respective sports.

Two Roman Catholic priests, the Rev. Ernest Esposito and the Rev. Thomas Lynch, were entrusted with the blessing and formal dedication. It was a personal pleasure to see both. Father Ernie was assigned to Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Fairfield during many of our years in attendance; he remains a dedicated fan of Stan Musial. Father Lynch is a close friend of my brother-in-law's family and a humorist.

Clinard said it required two months of work to create the likeness of O'Rourke. Several of the former ballplayer's descendants visited her studio during this period. "Some of them," she said, "had tears in their eyes" when they viewed her creation.

Area fans will have the opportunity to learn more about this local baseball pioneer at the Fairfield Museum and History Center's exhibit, "It's a Hit! A Hometown View of Our National Pastime," which runs until Jan. 2, 2011. O'Rourke and the only other Connecticut native inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player, 19th century slugger Roger Connor of Waterbury, are among those featured at the museum.