Arthur Irwin - Coaching Career

Coaching Career

After two seasons at the helm in Philadelphia, Irwin left in 1896 to manage the New York Giants. He was relieved of his duties after one season. He was subsequently recruited to manage in Milwaukee, but spent the 1897 season out of baseball. He managed the Washington Senators and the Toronto minor league team during different parts of 1898 and 1899. He faced arrest on a libel charge in 1898, which stemmed from comments that Irwin made about the actions of the Philadelphia ownership during his time there. Though Irwin turned himself in, it appears that he was never arrested.

After 1899, Irwin would not return to the major leagues as a coach; he stayed in the minor leagues and in college baseball, with the exception of his major league scouting work and a two-month stint as a National League umpire in 1902.

For several seasons, Irwin managed or coached the University of Pennsylvania team. The timing of the college baseball schedule allowed him to do so while maintaining his big league responsibilities.

By 1906, Irwin was manager of the Altoona Mountaineers in the Tri-State League. In July 1907, Irwin resigned as manager of the Mountaineers after fans became disgruntled.

In April 1911, he was offered an opportunity to spend five years teaching baseball in Japan. Nothing seems to have come of the offer, as Irwin was still in the United States just before the 1911 World Series.

Irwin purchased a partial interest in the Lewiston Cupids in 1915 and managed the club in that final season of the original New England League. The 1915 Cupids featured 16 year old Cuban pitcher Oscar Tuero, who won 17 games in his third professional season. The team did not win the pennant that year, but the race came down to the final days of the season.

Irwin did not manage in 1916 or 1917, then managed the Rochester Hustlers between 1918 and 1920. Rochester was not successful under Irwin. In fact, the 1920 Hustlers went only 45-106. Cray L. Remington of the Rochester Evening Journal later wrote, "Local fans used to pan Arthur Irwin in the old days when Arthur was as innocent of wrong as the little sparrows on the limbs. Arthur's job was to win ball games minus talent. He couldn't do it."

While managing the Eastern League's Hartford Senators in 1921 against a New York semi-pro team, Irwin noticed the play of Lou Gehrig and convinced him to sign his first professional contract with Hartford. Gehrig, who had already committed to play at Columbia University, began playing for Hartford using assumed names like Lou Lewis. However, the school found out about Gehrig's play and the slugger was forced to sit out of baseball at Columbia for a year.