John McCabe played for Davenport in the Central Interstate League in 1888. At the start of August, when the franchise was first negotiating to transfer to the Western Association in place of Minneapolis, McCabe was one of the players who was expected to be kept when the two clubs merged. The deal fell through, and McCabe and William Crossley jumped to the Milwaukee club. He played in 50 games for Milwaukee, all at second base. Milwaukee reserved him for 1889, but released him the following February after signing Billy Klusman.<P>

McCabe started his professional career playing in his home city of Brooklyn in 1883. The next year he played for Trenton in the Eastern League, followed by Springfield in the Southern New England League in 1885. In 1886, he signed with Poughkeepsie (New York) in the Hudson River League. "John J. McCabe, Second Baseman, is also a New Yorker. He was born in 1865, is 21 years old and unmarried; he is a designer on carpets by trade, and is 5 ft 8 in in height" (<i>Poughkeepsie Eagle-News</i>, September 6, 1886, pg. 3). Poughkeepsie won the league championship that season. McCabe played for Jersey City in the International Association for 1887, but was released mid-season.<P>

Following his release from Milwaukee, McCabe signed with Hartford for the 1889 season. In 1890, he signed to play for Tacoma in the Pacific Northwest League, where he was reunited with William Lucas, his manager with Davenport in 1888. That was his final season in professional baseball. He was released by Tacoma in August, and was reported to be in San Francisco in September. His whereabouts after that are unknown.<P>