Roger Bresnahan was very proud of his Irish roots. He told everyone he was born in the Irish city of Tralee. That led to his awesome baseball nickname: the Duke of Tralee. It wasn't until after he died, that his friends and former teammates discovered that Roger was actually born and raised in Toledo, Ohio.
Despite that little deception, Bresnahan was one of the all-time great catchers. He was Christy Mathewson's catcher with the New York Giants, and was involved in that infamous Merkle Boner game in 1908. It wasn't until his last three years in the big leagues that he came to Chicago. He wasn't the same player by then, but was still revered for his smarts and moxie.
So much so, the Cubs eventually hired him to manage the team. He was their player/manager for the 1915 season and led them to a fourth place finish. That was the final season in West Side Grounds. The next year the Cubs moved into what is now known as Wrigley Field.
