Edward Hugh Hanlon (August 22, 1857 – April 14, 1937), also known as "Foxy Ned", and sometimes referred to as "the Father of Modern Baseball", was an American professional baseball player and manager whose career spanned from 1876 to 1914. He was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996 by the Veterans Committee.

Hanlon was a manager in Major League Baseball from 1889 to 1907, compiling a 1,313–1,164 (.530) record with five different clubs. He is best remembered as the manager of the Baltimore Orioles (1892–1898) and Brooklyn Superbas (1899–1905). In the seven seasons from 1894 to 1900, Hanlon compiled a 635–315 (.668) record, and his teams won five National League pennants. During his years with the Orioles, Hanlon was also credited with inventing and perfecting the "inside baseball" strategy, including the "hit and run" play and the Baltimore chop. In 1899, he became the second manager in baseball history to win 100 games in a season, doing so after Brooklyn won 101 games to win the National League pennant. The following year, he won his final National League pennant with Brooklyn, his fifth in seven seasons.

Hanlon also played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball, principally as a center fielder. He played in over 800 games as an outfielder for the Detroit Wolverines, remaining with the team during all eight years of its existence from 1881 to 1888. He compiled a career batting average of .260 and an on-base percentage of .325 with 930 runs scored and 1,317 hits. Although stolen base records are not available for the early portion of his playing career, Hanlon stole 329 bases (an average of 55 per year) in his last six years as a full-time player.

Hanlon was born in 1857 at Montville, Connecticut. His parents, Terrance and Mary Hanlon, were immigrants from Ireland. In 1870, Hanlon's father worked as a railroad laborer while Ned, at age 13, along with his older brother James (age 14) and younger brother O'Brien (age 11) worked in a cotton mill to help support the family. By 1880, the family had moved a few miles south to New London, where Hanlon's father, three brothers (James, Bryon and Terrance) and a step-sister (Clara Blake) were all working in a cotton mill. Ned was saved from life in the mill by his talent for baseball. The 1880 census recorded his occupation, in contrast to his other family members, as a professional ball player.

Hanlon began his professional baseball career in 1876 at age 17 or 18 with the Providence, Rhode Island club. He next played for the Fall River, Massachusetts club in the New England League in 1877, the Rochester, New York club in the International Association in 1878, and the Albany, New York team in the National Association in 1879. He played third base at Albany, posted a .315 batting average and scored 44 runs in 47 games.

Hanlon made his major league debut on May 1, 1880, as a member of the Cleveland Blues of the National League. He appeared in 73 games for the Blues, 69 as an outfielder and four as a shortstop, and compiled a .246 batting average with 32 RBIs. On June 12, 1880, he made the final out of the first perfect game in major league history, a 1–0 victory by Lee Richmond of the Worcester Ruby Legs.

Hanlon joined the newly formed Detroit Wolverines in 1881. He is one of only two players, along with Charlie Bennett, who played for the Wolverines during all eight years of the team's existence. In his eight seasons with the Wolverines, Hanlon compiled a .261 batting average, which was boosted to a .318 on-base percentage by 271 bases on balls and six times hit by pitch. He hit over .300 only once in his career, compiling a .302 batting average (.372 on-base percentage) in 1885.

During his time with Detroit, Hanlon was considered to be an excellent base-runner. Although stolen base records are not available for the years before 1886, Hanlon stole 329 bases (an average of 55 per year) in his last six years as a full-time player. His base-running prowess is also evidenced by his scoring 623 runs on only 879 hits for the Wolverines. The Sporting News called him a "wonderful base runner and a spark plug." In October 1885, The Sporting Life wrote that it was a "striking illustration of Ned Hanlon's daring and speed that for two years Buck Ewing has never once succeeded in throwing him out at second on a steal. And Buck is one of the best throwers in the League."