View source for John B. Day

{{Short description|American tobacco merchant and baseball executive}}
{{Other people||John Day (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=John B. Day
|position=Owner / [[Manager (baseball)|Manager]]
|image=John B. Day.jpg
|caption=Day in 1884
|birth_date={{Birth date|1847|9|23}}
|birth_place=[[Colchester, Connecticut]]
|death_date={{Death date and age|1925|1|25|1847|9|23}}
|death_place=[[Cliffside Park, New Jersey|Cliffside, New Jersey]]
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=Games managed
|stat1value=66
|stat2label=Managerial record
|stat2value=29–35
|stat3label=Winning %
|stat3value=.453
|teams=
'''As manager'''
* [[New York Giants (baseball)|New York Giants]] ({{mlby|1899}})
|highlights=
}}

'''John Bailey Day''' (September 23, 1847 – January 25, 1925) was an American tobacco merchant who became an owner and [[Manager (baseball)|manager]] in [[professional baseball]] of the late 19th century. He was the first owner of the franchise now known as the [[San Francisco Giants]].

==Biography==
Day was born in [[Colchester, Connecticut]], in 1847.<ref name=br/> He became wealthy first in the cigar manufacturing business, and then by opening a tobacco processing plant in [[Manhattan]]'s [[Lower East Side]].<ref name=SABR>{{cite web |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/john-day/ |title=John Day |first=Bill |last=Lamb |website=[[Society for American Baseball Research|SABR]] |date=September 27, 2011 |accessdate=September 20, 2020}}</ref>

Day was founding owner of the independent [[New York Metropolitans]] in 1880 and leased the [[Polo Grounds]] for them to play in, which was the first baseball large-scale venue in Manhattan. In 1883, his [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Gothams/Giants]] of the [[National League]] began play at the same site. By 1885, Day concentrated his attentions on the Giants team. Encountering financial difficulties, mainly as a result of the 1890 [[Players' League]] revolt, in January 1893 he sold the Giants franchise to [[Cornelius Van Cott]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/sf/history/owners.jsp |title=Giants All-Time Owners |website=[[MLB.com]] |accessdate=September 20, 2020}}</ref>

Day was the first of two [[Manager (baseball)|manager]]s for the [[1899 New York Giants season|1899 New York Giants]], leading the team to a 29–35 record in 66 games played (two contests were ties);<ref name=br>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/dayjo99.shtml |title=John Day Managerial Record |website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]] |accessdate=September 20, 2020}}</ref> he was succeeded by [[Fred Hoey (baseball manager)|Fred Hoey]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYG/1899.shtml |title=1899 New York Giants Statistics |website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]] |accessdate=September 20, 2020}}</ref> In 1900, Day served as the National League's chief of [[Umpire (baseball)|umpire]]s.<ref name=Pearson/>

Later in life, Day suffered the first of several [[stroke]]s in 1910.<ref name=Pearson>{{cite book |title=Baseball in 1889: Players Vs. Owners |first=Daniel Merle |last=Pearson |page=184 |publisher=Popular Press |year=1993 |via=[[Google Books]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1O1BFWv9v4sC&pg=PA184 |isbn=0879726180}}</ref><ref name=SABR/> He died at age 77 in 1925, having lost his fortune, in [[Cliffside Park, New Jersey|Cliffside, New Jersey]].<ref name=SABR/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59672071/obituary-for-john-b-day-aged-77/ |title='Father of Giants' Dies at Age of 77 |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |newspaper=[[The Morning Call]] |location=[[Allentown, Pennsylvania]] |page=12 |date=January 26, 1925 |accessdate=September 20, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> Married twice but without children, Day was interred at [[Portland, Connecticut]].<ref name=SABR/>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{sabrbio|c281a493|Bill Lamb|October 10, 2013}}

==External links==
*[https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/dayjo99.shtml Manager page at Baseball Reference]
*{{Find a Grave}}

{{San Francisco Giants owners}}
{{San Francisco Giants managers}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, John B}}
[[Category:1847 births]]
[[Category:1925 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Colchester, Connecticut]]
[[Category:American tobacco industry executives]]
[[Category:New York Giants (NL) owners]]
[[Category:New York Giants (NL) managers]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball executives]]