John Francis "Shano" Collins was from Charlestown, a Boston neighborhood with a heavy Irish-American population. The Collins family fit in with the profile of the neighborhood: All four of his grandparents were born in Ireland.

As for his nickname, “Shano” (sometimes spelled “Shauno” because it was pronounced that way) came about as a clubhouse corruption of Sean, the Gaelic equivalent of John and a nod to his Irish heritage.

Shano’s connection to baseball began at a young age. He sold peanuts at Boston’s Walpole Street Grounds, home to the city’s National League club. He excelled as a pitcher, then signed with Haverhill of the Class B New England League in 1907.

He played one season at Haverhill before he was purchased by Springfield of the Connecticut State League in 1909. There, his .322 batting average caught the eyes of the Chicago White Sox owner Charles Comiskey.

An arm injury eventually forced Shano to shortstop and second base in the minors before moving to the outfield and occasionally playing first base.

He made his major-league debut with the White Sox in 1910, playing about two-thirds of his games in the outfield and the balance at first base. In 1911 Shano improved marginally, playing first base consistently.

Throughout the decade, he established himself as a solid if unspectacular major-league player. Shano also showed hints of solid offensive production, placing third in the AL with 34 doubles in 1914 and fourth with 85 RBIs a year later.

With newly acquired stars like Shoeless Joe Jackson and Eddie Collins, the White Sox finished third in 1915. A second-place finish followed in 1916, and in 1917 Chicago captured the pennant.

Shano played right field in all six games of the 1917 World Series against the New York Giants. He hit .286 as the White Sox downed the Giants in six games.

Two years later, in 1919, the White Sox found themselves back in the World Series, this time against the Cincinnati Reds. The Series was a best-of-nine contest, which the Reds captured five games to three. No evidence exists to suggest that he was a part of the plot to throw the World Series to the Reds or had any knowledge of the it.

Shano played in four of the eight games, hitting .250 (4-for-16) with a double and two runs scored. He was never offered a role in the fixing of the World Series.

He spent most of the 1920 season at first base in place of Chick Gandil, who abruptly retired from baseball before the season began. In that first year of the live-ball era, Shano put together one of his best offensive seasons, hitting over .300 for the only time in his career.

In March 1921 Shano was traded to his hometown Red Sox in exchange for Harry Hooper, the aging former star outfielder of the Sox. The Red Sox of were dreadful and finished last in the American League in three of his five years with the team. He remained with the Red Sox until 1925, when at the age of 39 he was released in June after having played in only two games.

In 1931 Shano returned to Boston as the manager of the Red Sox. Unfortunately for him, no stability ever materialized, and he lasted just parts of two seasons as the Sox manager. He resigned in the middle of the 1932 season after compiling a record of 73-134.

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Shano Collins (pic)

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