Baseball Career
A native of Lima, New York, O'Dea began his professional baseball career at the age of 18 in 1931 with the Greensboro Patriots of the Piedmont League. He produced a .333 batting average while playing for the Keokuk Indians in 1932. Although his hitting would taper off, it was his defensive abilities as a catcher that made him stand out. After playing in the minor leagues for four years, he made his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs on April 21, 1935, at the age of 22.
O'Dea performed respectably for the Cubs, serving as a backup catcher to future Baseball Hall of Fame member, Gabby Hartnett. When Hartnett was injured in 1936, O'Dea filled in with solid defensive play as well as hitting for a .307 batting average in 80 games. In 1937 he hit for a .301 average in 83 games. On December 6, 1938, the Cubs traded him along with Frank Demaree and Billy Jurges to the New York Giants for Dick Bartell, Hank Leiber and catcher Gus Mancuso. With the Giants, O'Dea would once again be forced into a substitute role, as he backed up four-time All-Star Harry Danning. After three seasons with the Giants, he was traded on December 11, 1941 along with Bill Lohrman and Johnny McCarthy to the St. Louis Cardinals for Johnny Mize.
The Cardinals also had an All-Star catcher in Walker Cooper, so O'Dea once again found himself in a back up role. When Cooper was inducted into the United States Navy in 1945, O'Dea was finally given the opportunity to be a starting catcher. He made the most of the opportunity, posting career-highs in games played (100), hits (78), runs (36), runs batted in (43) and extra-base hits (24). O'Dea's pitch calling skills helped the Cardinals pitching staff lead the league in shutouts as the team finished the season in second place, three games behind the Chicago Cubs. He also led National League catchers in fielding percentage and in base runners caught stealing, and finished second to Phil Masi in assists. He was selected to be a reserve catcher for the National League team in the 1945 All-Star Game however, the game was cancelled due to wartime travel restrictions. The following season, the 33-year-old O'Dea was traded to the Boston Braves to make room for young catcher, Joe Garagiola. With the Braves, he resumed the role of a backup catcher behind another All-Star, Phil Masi. O'Dea played in his final game on August 6, 1946 at the age of 33.
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