Efforts are underway to preserve a house on Steel Point that was owned by a mostly forgotten baseball legend from Bridgeport.

The house, built in 1891, was once inhabited by Jim O?Rourke. However, it is now in disrepair and cannot stay in its current location because of the planned Steel Point development.

O?Rourke was born in 1850 and was the son of Irish immigrants. He overcame anti-Irish prejudice and played for Boston in his early days. He got the very first hit in National League history, a single for Boston in 1876. Many consider him a great of early baseball.

In 1879, he won a National League championship with the Providence Greys and later had a couple of stints with the New York Giants, the last of which was in 1904 when he was almost 60 years old.

O?Rourke stayed close to his roots and later died in his Steel Point home in 1919.

Steps are being made by an organization called First Hit, Inc. to save the house. However, some say time is running out.