It seemed fitting, too, The Post wrote, as several Marlins officials had roots in the Expos organization and ties to the Jamestown franchise. And it was something that Jamestown GM Tom O'Reilly seemed to know well.
"It's kind of funny we play them right away, because I know a lot of those guys," O'Reilly told The Post. "For a while, this club was owned by the Expos."
O'Reilly spoke as he entered his fifth season as general manager of the Jamestown club. He'd also served as GM previously at single-A Kenosha and Waterloo.
O'Reilly may have also gone on to roles with independent clubs in the Chicago area, though no definitive connection other than the role and name could be found.
O'Reilly's 1990 season marked his second with the club and apparently his first card. His first card, though, came with a misspelling: His name is written as Tom O'Reilley, not O'Reilly.
O'Reilly also got a card in the Jamestown set the following season, what appears to have been his second and last card. That card, too, misspelled his name, this time as Rom O'Reilly.
Neither card formally identifies O'Reilly in the photos, however a comparison of the two - O'Reilly is the only repeated individual - indicates he is in the center of the 1990 card.
O'Reilly's tenure as Jamestown general manager included both highs and lows. The team won the league championship in 1989 (He appears to be wearing the 1989 championship ring for the card photo) and the February after that, the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame honored him with four others at its induction dinner. Jamestown also won the league title in 1991 under his watch.
Then, in June 1992, five members of the team were hurt, one seriously, in a crash that police said was caused by the team's trainer, whom police said had been intoxicated.
The exact path of O'Reilly's career beyond Jamestown could not be determined, but a Tom O'Reilly is credited as director of food and beverages for the independent Schaumburg Flyers in 2000, then as an assistant general manager in 2002 and marketing director in 2003.
A Tom O'Reilly then served as general manager for the Windy City Thunderbolts in 2006 and 2007.
- Palm Beach Post, Feb. 6, 1992: Marlins class A team opens season June 15
Players/Coaches Featured:3,256
Made the Majors:1,174-36.1%
Never Made Majors:2,082-63.9%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 485
10+ Seasons in the Minors:286
No comments:
Post a Comment