Edward Sylvester "The Only" Nolan was a Canadian professional baseballpitcher, outfielder, and third baseman. Although he was raised in Paterson, and the 1900 census shows his birthplace as New Jersey, both the 1870 and 1880 censuses indicate that he and his three older brothers were born in Canada. His parents were James and Mary Nolan, both born in Ireland. He married Mary Coyle around 1882 and they had two children, Marguerita and Edward.
Career
Nolan broke into baseball with the Indianapolis Blues of the National League in. On May 21, Nolan set down the Milwaukee Grays with just 2 hits‚ but the Blues barely won the 6–5 game because of 11 errors and passed balls. He was expelled by the team on August 14 when he told the team he was going to a funeral, but instead went drinking. During the league meetings in December, Nolan's appeal for reinstatement was denied. In Nolan was allowed to return to the league, this time with the Cleveland Blues. On July 23, Nolan not only pitched Cleveland to a 7–3 win over the Buffalo Bisons, but went 4-for-4 at the plate. Nolan and teammates John Clapp and Jim McCormick missed the team's September 20 game in Worcester because their return from a side trip to New York City was delayed by a train wreck. They were each fined $100. At a National League meeting in Saratoga Springs, New York later that month, the league adopted a blacklist of players who were barred from playing for or against any NL teams until they were removed by unanimous vote of the league clubs. Nolan was one of the ten blacklisted for "confirmed dissipation and general insubordination". The other nine were Sadie Houck‚ Lip Pike‚ Buttercup Dickerson‚ Mike Dorgan‚ Bill Crowley‚ John Fox‚ Lew Brown‚ Emil Gross‚ and Ed Caskin. He pitched in 7 games, all losses, for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys in 1883 before being released for disciplinary reasons. He played two more professional seasons for the Wilmington Quicksteps and the Philadelphia Quakers before retiring. Bill James and Rob Neyer report Nolan as having thrown an unusually fast underhand fastball and a combination of curveballs. A range of possible origins of the nickname "The Only" have been claimed over the years, one states that the reason for the name derives from the fact that no other Nolans, either first or last name had played or was playing in the majors at that time, therefore he was the only Nolan. The other is slightly more elaborate. In the period following the Civil War, a wildly successful minstrel performer of the day, named Francis Leon, rose to prominence performing a burlesque act while simultaneously in both blackface and drag. His popularity prompted many imitators. In response, Leon began billing himself and his act as, "The Only Leon." The theory follows then that Ed Nolan somehow reminded an observer of Leon, thus sparking the similar nickname.
