O'Day was born in Chicago , the son of railroad engineer James O'Day ( &ndash; 1885 ) and his wife Margaret ( &ndash; 1895 ) , who were immigrants from Ireland and were both deaf . The couple had at least seven children : Daniel ( &ndash; 1898 ) , James Jr. ( &ndash; before 1895 ) , Catherine ( &ndash; 1901 ) , Henry , Margaret ( &ndash; before 1895 ) , Mary McNamara ( &ndash; 1924 ) , and Joseph ( 1870 &ndash; 1885 ) . The O'Days originally settled in Buffalo , New York ; by the mid-1850s , they had moved to Cincinnati , and they relocated to Chicago around 1858 . Henry was born in the vicinity of Ewing Street ( later renamed Cabrini Street ) and Jefferson Street , which was just one block north of the starting point of the Chicago Fire in 1871 ; however , by 1870 , the family had moved about two miles west to 1022 W. Jackson Street ( renumbered in 1909 as 2433 W. Jackson Boulevard ) , which remained the family residence until the early 20th century . O'Day worked as a steam fitter in Chicago before entering organized baseball
Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Hank O'Day