Early Years
Austin was born in Swansea, Wales, the son of a shipbuilder. He was one of only three Major League Baseball players to be born in Wales (the others being pitcher Ted Lewis and infielder Peter Morris). His father moved to the United States in 1885 to find work, and Austin followed in 1887. He did not see a baseball game until he was 14 years old.
After leaving school in 1889, Austin became an apprentice machinist with Westinghouse. After finishing his four-year apprenticeship, Westinghouse went on strike. Austin took up an offer of $40 a month, plus a job, to play independent ball in Warren, Ohio. He returned to Westinghouse that fall, but in the spring of 1904, he signed with the Central League's Dayton, Ohio club.
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