James Edward Ryan (February 11, 1863 – October 29, 1923), nicknamed "Pony", was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played between 1885 and 1903, primarily for the Chicago White Stockings / Colts / Orphans. He batted .300 eleven times, retiring with a career average of .308, and was the seventh player to hit 100 career home runs. Ryan set major league records for career games (1,945) and assists (375) as an outfielder that were later broken by Jesse Burkett and Tris Speaker respectively. He also ended his career ranking second in putouts (3,701) and fourth in double plays (71). Baseball career A native of Clinton, Massachusetts, Ryan started his major league career with Chicago of the National League (NL) in 1885. He played for the team until 1900, except for the 1890 season when he played for the Chicago Pirates of the Players' League. Ryan had his best season in 1888, leading the NL in hits (182), doubles (33), home runs (16), total bases (283), and slugging percentage (.515). He was also second in batting average (.332), extra-base hits (59) and runs scored (115). During that season, Ryan hit for the cycle on July 28. He also appeared in that game as a pitcher, becoming the first player in major league history to hit for the cycle and pitch in the same game. The White Stockings beat the Detroit Wolverines, 21–17. Ryan was the most severely injured player when the Chicago team was involved in a train wreck at Lindsey, Ohio on August 6, 1893 when their sleeper cars derailed and crashed into a freight train that was stopped on a siding, resulting in three fatalities. Ryan's legs were shattered, and for weeks there were doubts that he would even be able to walk again, resulting in a $10,000 settlement from the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. As late as the following January, it was still considered unlikely that he would be able to resume his career, but he returned to post a career-high .357 batting average. Almost exactly one year after the wreck, on August 5, 1894, Ryan and teammate Walt Wilmot were credited with saving hundreds of lives when a fire broke out in the stands at West Side Park; the two players used bats to break down barbed-wire fencing, allowing fans to escape onto the field. In 1900, Ryan broke Tom Brown's