Tom Barlow baseball

Thomas H. Barlow (1852–?) was an American Major League Baseball player who played as a catcher and shortstop during his four-year career in the National Association. He is recognized as the pioneer of the bunt.

Barlow began his baseball journey with the Star club of Brooklyn in 1871, an amateur team that won the National Association of Amateur Base Ball Players championship with a 30-13 record. His teammates included future Hall of Famer Candy Cummings.

In 1872, he joined the professional ranks with the Brooklyn Atlantics. He played 37 games, mostly as catcher, hitting .310 and scoring 34 runs. The following year, he caught 53 games for the Hartford Dark Blues, becoming one of only seven players to catch all his team's games since 1873.

During the 1874 season with the Dark Blues, Barlow sustained an injury while catching pitcher Cherokee Fisher. This led to a morphine addiction after a hospital visit, which ended his baseball career. His struggles are documented in a letter read by David Caruso in Ken Burns' documentary "Baseball."

Barlow returned briefly in 1875, playing two games for Elm Citys and Atlantics. He faced legal issues in 1877 when arrested for shoplifting in NYC due to his addiction.

Post-baseball, the 1880 census lists him living with his parents in Brooklyn as a ball player, with no further information on his life or death beyond that.