Edgar McNabb
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Edgar J. McNabb (October 24, 1865 - February 28, 1894), nicknamed "Texas," was a right-handed pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles in 1893 who committed suicide and shot his girlfriend after his first year in the major leagues.
Born in Coshocton, Ohio, McNabb played in 21 games for the Baltimore Orioles between May 12 and August 11, 1893. He pitched 12 complete games with a record of 8-7 and an earned run average of 4.12 (Adjusted ERA+ of 115). Despite a good record with the 8th place Orioles, he was released and signed with a minor league team in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the 1894 season.
McNabb died on February 28, 1894. McNabb's girlfriend, Louise Kellogg (sometimes referred to as Laura Kellogg),[1] was a "shapely" blond actress who was married to R.E. Rockwell, a Seattle ice merchant who was also President of the Pacific Coast League and the Northwest League. McNabb and Kellogg were staying at the Hotel Eiffel in Pittsburgh (registering as Mr. and Mrs. E.J. McNabb) when gunshots and screams were heard coming from their room at approximately 8:00 p.m. When a friend of McNabb's broke down the door, he found McNabb dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the mouth, and Kellogg on the floor lying in a pool of blood, having been shot multiple times. Kellogg was paralyzed from the waist down and died later from her injuries. ("The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract," by Bill James, p. 1908) [2]
The shooting incident set off a scandal in professional baseball. Some speculated that the couple was penniless and that McNabb saw suicide as an end to his problems. According to a Pittsburgh Post Gazette article, Kellogg was planning to end the relationship, and letters found in the room indicated that she had been sending McNabb money over the winter months. Police surmised that an argument developed, ending in McNabb shooting Kellogg and then turning the gun on himself. [3]
