that of baseball historian David Fleitz, who suggested that McAleer had been diagnosed with cancer in the early 1930s. In any event, McAleer died suddenly on April 29, 1931, shortly after being released from the hospital. He was 66 years old. After private funeral services at Orr's funeral home, McAleer's remains were interred at Oak Hill Cemetery, on Youngstown's near south side. Apart from his widow, he left behind two brothers, J.C. McAleer of Austintown, Ohio, and Owen McAleer of Los Angeles. Other survivors included two nephews, Captain Charlies McAleer, an officer in the U.S. Army, and James McAleer of Los Angeles. Rumors persist that McAleer's death was the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. While his name is included on some lists of Major League Baseball players who committed suicide, contemporary newspaper accounts indicated that McAleer died of natural causes. Legacy McAleer's hometown newspaper, The Youngstown Daily Vindicator, eulogized the ex-Major Leaguer in the following terms: "Forceful and resourceful, but always retiring when there was talk of his share in the development of baseball, James R. McAleer died within a matter of weeks after the passing of Byron Bancroft Johnson, his chief partner in the forming of the American League, and the man with whom he 'broke', which break brought about his retirement". The article praised McAleer for assisting the careers of other baseball figures. In 1905, during his tenure as manager of the St. Louis Browns, McAleer helped future Hall of Fame umpire Billy Evans secure a position with the American League, writing a personal letter to Johnson on Evans' behalf. Meanwhile, McAleer served as a contact for another Youngstown resident, John "Bonesetter" Reese, the Welsh-born "baseball doctor" who worked with players such as Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Walter Johnson, and John McGraw. McAleer's contributions to the game failed to win him a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame, however. In 1936, during the first elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame, he received just one vote in the balloting for 19th-century figures. Nevertheless, McAleer received an unofficial endorsement from Hall of Fame second baseman Nap Lajoie, who described McAleer as "one of the best ever". McAleer's obituary in The New York Times suggested that he was "one of the fastest outfielders the major leagues ever produced". In 2003, Bill James described McAleer as "the best defensive outfielder of the 1890s". More