Instead, he entered the major leagues with the Rochester Broncos of the American Association that year. In one season with the Broncos, Calihan had an 18–15 win-loss record and appeared 12 times in the outfield.
He spent his last major-league season (1891) with the Philadelphia Athletics, earning a 6–6 record in 13 games. In 50 games as a pitcher, his record was 24–21 with 42 complete games in 47 starts and an ERA of 4.14.