# Merv Shea > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Merv_Shea > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Merv_Shea.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merv_Shea > Source revision: 1270430854 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American baseball player (1900–1953)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Merv Shea |image=Merv Shea 1943.jpg |caption=Shea, circa 1943 |position=[Catcher](/source/Catcher) |birth_date={{birth date|1900|9|5}} |birth_place=[San Francisco, California](/source/San_Francisco%2C_California), U.S. |death_date={{Death date and age|1953|1|27|1900|9|5}} |death_place=[Sacramento, California](/source/Sacramento%2C_California), U.S. |bats=Right |throws=Right |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=April 23 |debutyear=1927 |debutteam=Detroit Tigers |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=August 19 |finalyear=1944 |finalteam=Philadelphia Phillies |statleague = MLB |stat1label=[Batting average](/source/Batting_average_(baseball)) |stat1value=.220 |stat2label=[Home run](/source/Home_run)s |stat2value=5 |stat3label=[Runs batted in](/source/Run_batted_in) |stat3value=115 |teams= * [Detroit Tigers](/source/Detroit_Tigers) ({{mlby|1927}}–{{mlby|1929}}) * [Boston Red Sox](/source/Boston_Red_Sox) ({{mlby|1933}}) * [St. Louis Browns](/source/St._Louis_Browns) ({{mlby|1933}}) * [Chicago White Sox](/source/Chicago_White_Sox) ({{mlby|1934}}–{{mlby|1937}}) * [Brooklyn Dodgers](/source/Brooklyn_Dodgers) ({{mlby|1938}}) * [Detroit Tigers](/source/Detroit_Tigers) ({{mlby|1939}}) * [Philadelphia Phillies](/source/Philadelphia_Phillies) ({{mlby|1944}}) }} '''Mervyn John Shea''' (September 5, 1900 – January 27, 1953) was an American [professional](/source/professional) baseball [catcher](/source/catcher) and [coach](/source/Coach_(baseball)). He played in [Major League Baseball](/source/Major_League_Baseball) (MLB) for the [Detroit Tigers](/source/Detroit_Tigers), [Boston Red Sox](/source/Boston_Red_Sox), [St. Louis Browns](/source/St._Louis_Browns), [Chicago White Sox](/source/Chicago_White_Sox), [Brooklyn Dodgers](/source/Brooklyn_Dodgers), and [Philadelphia Phillies](/source/Philadelphia_Phillies) between 1927 and 1944.[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sheame01.shtml "Merv Shea Statistics and History"]. "baseball-reference.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017. Born in [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco) to Irish immigrants, at age five he survived the deadly [1906 San Francisco Earthquake](/source/1906_San_Francisco_Earthquake), although the Shea family home was demolished in the temblor.{{cite web |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Merv-Shea/ |title=Marv Shea |last= Nowlin|first=Bill |date= |website=sabr.org |publisher=[The Society for American Baseball Research](/source/The_Society_for_American_Baseball_Research) Biography Project |access-date=September 29, 2022 |quote=}} ==Playing career== In his 11 big-league seasons, Shea played in 439 [games](/source/games_played) and had 1,197 [at bats](/source/at_bats), 105 [runs scored](/source/runs_scored), 263 hits, 39 [doubles](/source/double_(baseball)), seven [triples](/source/triple_(baseball)), five [home runs](/source/home_runs), 115 [runs batted in](/source/runs_batted_in), eight [stolen base](/source/stolen_base)s and 189 [walks](/source/base_on_balls). He compiled a .220 [batting average](/source/batting_average_(baseball)), .327 [on-base percentage](/source/on-base_percentage), .277 [slugging percentage](/source/slugging_percentage), 331 [total base](/source/total_base)s and 13 [sacrifice hit](/source/sacrifice_hit)s. In 1933, Shea tied the American League record for [fielding percentage](/source/fielding_percentage) by a catcher (.996), with only 2 errors in 449 [total chances](/source/total_chances). That season, which he split between the Red Sox and Browns, he reached career bests in games played (110) and hits (81). From 1934 to 1938 he was a second-string catcher, playing behind regulars such as [Luke Sewell](/source/Luke_Sewell) and [Babe Phelps](/source/Babe_Phelps). ==Later life== She was a player-coach or coach for the Tigers (1939–42, serving on their [1940 American League championship edition](/source/1940_Detroit_Tigers_season)), Philadelphia Phillies (1944–45, including his seven-game stint as a player at age 43 in 1944) and Chicago Cubs (1948–49). He managed the [Portland Beavers](/source/Portland_Beavers) of the [Pacific Coast League](/source/Pacific_Coast_League) (1943), and also spent several years scouting for the Cubs' organization. Shea played himself in the [Jimmy Stewart](/source/James_Stewart) movie ''[The Stratton Story](/source/The_Stratton_Story)'' (1949). He joined the coaching staff of the [Sacramento Solons](/source/Sacramento_Solons) of the PCL in 1951, but was forced to retire due to a chronic [liver](/source/liver) [abscess](/source/abscess) in his second season there.{{cite news | title =Former Ball Player Dies | newspaper =The New York Times | date =January 29, 1953 | url =http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Obits_S/Shea.Merv.Obit.html | accessdate =August 20, 2012}} He died from the disease at the age of 52 in [Sacramento](/source/Sacramento%2C_California). ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{Baseballstats|mlb=122090 |espn=27414 |br=s/sheame01|brm=shea--001mer}} *[https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Merv-Shea/ Nowlin, Bill, ''Merv Shea.'' ] [Society for American Baseball Research](/source/Society_for_American_Baseball_Research) Biography Project {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Shea, Mervyn John}} Category:1900 births Category:1953 deaths Category:Baseball players from San Francisco Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:Brooklyn Dodgers players Category:Chicago Cubs coaches Category:Chicago Cubs scouts Category:Chicago White Sox players Category:Deaths from liver disease Category:Detroit Tigers coaches Category:Detroit Tigers players Category:Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Category:Major League Baseball catchers Category:Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Category:Philadelphia Phillies coaches Category:Philadelphia Phillies players Category:Portland Beavers managers Category:Portland Beavers players Category:Sacramento Solons players Category:St. Louis Browns players Category:20th-century American sportsmen --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Merv Shea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merv_Shea) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merv_Shea?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.