St. Bonaventure

Born April 2, 1869 near Scranton, Pennsylvania, Hugh Jennings was no stranger to the athletic fields of St. Bonaventure. Before even coming to Bonas to play collegiate ball, Jennings had already played three years in the major leagues. In 1891 Jennings began his Major League career with the Louisville Colonels playing in 81 games while hitting .300. In 1894  Hugh would come to Bonaventure with the help of his long time friend John McGraw in order to get a quality education as well as help out the baseball program at the college. Jennings was a player-coach at Bonas from 1894-1897 and in his college off-season he also played for the Baltimore Orioles. It was with the Orioles that Jennings would help lead his team to three National league championships in 1894-1896, eventually winning the Temple Cup world championship in 1897. Sources say that during his five seasons with the Orioles, Jennings never batted less than .328.

Hugh also had an impressive career as manager of the Detroit Tigers from 1907-1920. In his first three seasons as manager; 1907, 1908, and 1909 Hugh Jennings won three pennants with the Tigers however, during his tenure with the ball club he was never able to capture a World Series Championship. Jennings would eventually leave the Tigers to join his friend John McGraw as an assistant manager in 1921 and sadly in 1925 Jennings was forced to leave baseball due to a serious illness that would later claim his life. Jennings would always be remembered for his piercing trademark yell on the diamond of "Ee-yah." Hugh was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York in 1939 after a long and impressive baseball career both as a player and a manager.