Comiskey, Charles

Charles A. Comiskey, Sr. (1859-1931) Comiskey had a 13-year MLB playing career with the St. Louis Browns (AA), Chicago Pirates (PL), and the Cincinnati Reds (NL) with a lifetime batting average of .264, 28 home runs, and 883 runs-batted-in. MLB manager for 12 seasons going 839-540 (.608) and winning 4 league pennants and 1 World Series. Comiskey was co-founder of the American League with Tom Loftus and Ban Johnson and founder-owner of the Chicago White Sox. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. Comiskey lived in Dubuque from 1878 to 1891 and married Dubuquer Anna Kelly. Both of Comiskey’s sons were born in Dubuque and one—Charles A. Comiskey, Jr.—is buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Key West, Iowa. Comiskey and Ted Sullivan revolutionized first base play in Dubuque. Comiskey and his family remained loyal to Dubuque long past his death in 1931 his death. Comiskey Park in Dubuque was named in honor of the “Old Roman” in 1929.

For more information, see “The Evolution of the American League” and “Tom Loftus: The American League’s Forgotten Founding Father.”

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