Early Years
Austin was born in Swansea, Wales, the son of a shipbuilder. He was one of only three Major League Baseball players to be born in Wales (the others being pitcher Ted Lewis and infielder Peter Morris). His father moved to the United States in 1885 to find work, and Austin followed in 1887. He did not see a baseball game until he was 14 years old.
After leaving school in 1889, Austin became an apprentice machinist with Westinghouse. After finishing his four-year apprenticeship, Westinghouse went on strike. Austin took up an offer of $40 a month, plus a job, to play independent ball in Warren, Ohio. He returned to Westinghouse that fall, but in the spring of 1904, he signed with the Central League's Dayton, Ohio club.
Read more about this topic: Jimmy Austin
Famous quotes related to early years:
“I believe that if we are to survive as a planet, we must teach this next generation to handle their own conflicts assertively and nonviolently. If in their early years our children learn to listen to all sides of the story, use their heads and then their mouths, and come up with a plan and share, then, when they become our leaders, and some of them will, they will have the tools to handle global problems and conflict.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)