Jimmy Boyle (baseball)

Boyle was called up to New York in the summer of 1926, arriving by Pullman train car. He signed a contract for $250 to play with the Giants, minus a $30 deposit for both his home and away uniforms. His brief career started at the top of the ninth inning when John McGraw sent him to replace Paul Florence behind homeplate at the Polo Grounds. That would be the extent of his career in the Majors.

Jimmy "Browntown" Boyle (January 19, 1904 in Cincinnati, Ohio – December 24, 1958 in Cincinnati, Ohio), a catcher for the 1926 New York Giants, has the distinction of having one of the shortest known Major League Baseball careers. Although Boyle is only one of about 900 ballplayers who have played in only a single major league game, he is distinguished by having played for only one inning, the ninth inning of a game against Pittsburgh in June of that year (which the Giants lost 8–0). After three outs, Boyle never got to bat and never played again; he is even further distinguished by having never played in the minors, moving straight to the Giants from college, and retiring from baseball completely at the end of his one-inning season. He later went on to make his famous New York City steakhouse called The Browntown Beefery.

Boyle's family emigrated from Ireland in the 1800s and settled in Cincinnati. His father James worked as a brewery truck driver and a fireman.