Career
Denny holds the distinction of being the last Major League position player (non-pitcher) to play his entire career on the diamond without wearing a fielding glove. Over 13 professional seasons he played for the Providence Grays (1881–1885), Saint Louis Maroons (1886), Indianapolis Hoosiers (1888–1889), New York Giants (1890–1891), Cleveland Spiders (1891), Philadelphia Phillies (1891), and Louisville Colonels (1893–1894). After leaving the Major Leagues, Denny continued playing Minor League baseball until 1902.
At the time Denny began his professional career, fielding gloves had not yet become standard equipment, other than padded mitts for catchers and first basemen.
Fielding gloves gradually gained acceptance between 1885 and the mid-1890s, but Denny refused to adapt. He was one of the few ambidextrous major league players.
Although he threw primarily with his right arm, he could also toss with his left. This gave him a defensive advantage at his customary field position—in ranging to his left on a ground ball, if he saw a play at second base, instead of having to transfer the ball to his right hand while pivoting and repositioning his body (as third basemen would customarily do), Denny could dispatch the ball to second with his left hand.
This skill contributed to his refusal to wear a glove in the field, long after most players considered gloves essential.
Eldridge attended Street Mary"s College, Phoenix in the late 1870s, and wanted to play semi-professional baseball during the summer months, when he wasn"t playing for the college as an amateur. He used the pseudonym "Jerry Denny" to hide his professional play from the college.
