{{short description|American jockey}} {{More citations needed|date=December 2021}} {{Infobox horseracing personality | name = Joe McCahey | image =Joe McCahey (Diario de la Marino, February 13, 1915).jpg | caption = | occupation = Jockey | birth_date = {{Birth date|1888|05|11}} | birth_place = [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1917|03|17|1888|05|11}} | death_place = [[Asheville, North Carolina]] | resting_place = Old Cathedral Cemetery,<br>[[Cathedral Park, Philadelphia]] | career wins = 837 (1909-1916) | race = [[Delaware Handicap (Saratoga)|Delaware Handicap]] (1908, 1909)<br>[[Saratoga Handicap]] (1908)<br>[[Zephyr Stakes]] (1908)<br>[[Champagne Stakes (United States)|Champagne Stakes]] (1909)<br>[[Walden Stakes]] (1909)<br>[[Bowie Handicap (Pimlico)|Bowie Handicap]] (1910)<br>Invincible Handicap (1910)<br>[[Test Handicap]] (1910)<br>[[Grey Stakes]] (1911)<br>[[Keene Memorial Stakes]] (1913, 1915)<br>[[Aberdeen Stakes]] (1914)<br>[[Astoria Stakes]] (1914, 1915)<br>Blue Point Stakes (1914)<br>[[Brooklyn Handicap]] (1914)<br>[[Empire City Handicap]] (1914)<br>[[Fall Highweight Handicap]] (1914)<br>[[Garden City Handicap]] (1914)<br>[[Hudson Stakes]] (1914)<br>[[Saratoga Cup]] (1914)<br>[[Troy Stakes]] (1914, 1915)<br>[[Excelsior Handicap]] (1915)<br>[[Great American Stakes]] (1915)<br>[[Kentucky Stakes]] (1915) | awards = [[United States Champion Jockey by earnings]] (1914) | honours = | horses = [[Addie M.]], Buckhorn, [[Comely]],<br> Montfort, [[Ormesdale]] | updated = }}
'''Joseph M. McCahey''' (May 11, 1888 – March 13, 1917) was an American champion [[jockey]] in [[Thoroughbred]] [[horse racing]] who won a [[United States Champion Jockey by earnings|national riding title]] in 1914.
Joe McCahey began his career as a stableboy and jockey in training for an up-and-coming young trainer named [[James E. Fitzsimmons|Jim Fitzsimmons]] who loaned him to stable owner and trainer Tom Mannix to ride in [[Louisiana]] and [[Florida]] during the winter. When Mannix died in the fall of 1910 Fitzsimmons began giving McCahey more rides and loaning him to other top level trainers such as [[T. J. Healey]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1910092901/drf1910092901_1_6 |title=T. E. Mannix is Dead |publisher=Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives |date=1910-09-29 |accessdate=2020-01-16}}</ref>
In 1913 McCahey finished second in [[United States Champion Jockey by wins|wins nationally]] behind [[Merritt C. Buxton|Merritt Buxton]] and the following year when he led the nation in earnings he finished second in wins nationally behind [[John McTaggart (jockey)|John McTaggart]]. In 1915, health problems forced McCahey to reduce his number of mounts by more than 25% but still had a impressive win to start rate of 18%. A September 10, 1915 article in the ''[[New York Times]]'' referred to McCahey as "one of the foremost jockeys on the American turf" and someone "often referred to as the [[Honus Wagner|Hans Wagner]] of the turf".<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1915/09/10/archives/mccahey-ten-years-a-jockey.html New York Times, September 10, 1915 article titled "McCahey Ten Years a Jockey"] Retrieved June 27, 2018</ref>
Failing health forced McCahey to retire in 1916 after a limited number of mounts and in March 1917 he died at age 28 from [[tuberculosis]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1917031601/drf1917031601_1_12 |title=Jockey Joe MCahey Dies at Asheville |publisher=Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives |date=1917-03-16|accessdate=2019-10-17}}</ref> In their post-mortem review of his career, the ''[[Daily Racing Form]]'' wrote that throughout his career McCahey "was an honest, upright sportsman."
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCahey, Joe}} [[Category:1888 births]] [[Category:1917 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century deaths from tuberculosis]] [[Category:American jockeys]] [[Category:American Champion jockeys]] [[Category:Sportspeople from Philadelphia]] [[Category:Tuberculosis deaths in North Carolina]] [[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]