If you’re from Sherrill, NY then you may be aware of one of its few Major League Baseball – Arthur Augustus “Ben” Egan. Egan and 9 of his brothers began playing together as a team around the turn of the 20th century, making headlines as they played teams around the region.
Ben Egan made it to the majors for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1908 and later also played for Cleveland. He also was a pitching coach for a Washington Senators that won the pennant.
While in the minors with the Orioles, he was the transformative catcher who mentored young pitchers, most famously including one named Babe Ruth! Egan was the catcher for Ruth’s first minor league game!
Egan became such a beloved figure in Baltimore, seen by many as their good luck charm and key to success, that:
Baltimore fans turned out on May 22, 1922, to honor their former catcher as they celebrated Ben Egan Day in Baltimore and toasted him as “perhaps the best-liked player that ever wore Oriole livery.”
source: sabr.org/bioproj/person/ben-egan/
After the pros, Egan returned to work at Oneida Community Limited, and went on to play for and coach its semipro baseball team – the Silversmiths. On May 14, 1948, the Sherrill and Oneida Community declared another Ben Egan Day to honor the “Sherrill Sage”, as the press began to call him.
References:
Ben Egan
https://www.oneidadispatch.com/2016/07/27/baseball-a-favorite-pastime-throughout-sherrills-history/