Jack Chesbro
From BR Bullpen
John Dwight Chesbro (Happy Jack)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 9", Weight 180 lb.
- Debut July 12, 1899
- Final Game October 2, 1909
- Born June 5, 1874 in North Adams, MA USA
- Died November 6, 1931 in Conway, MA USA
Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1946
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[edit] Biographical Information
Nicknamed "Happy Jack", Jack Chesbro was one of baseball's top pitchers in the early part of the 20th Century.
Chesbro, a spitballer (spitballs were legal until 1920), broke into the majors in 1899 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He pitched for the Pirates until 1902 and in his final year went an astonishing 28-6 with a 2.17 ERA.
In 1903, Chesbro moved to the newly formed New York Highlanders (soon to be New York Yankees) and pitched the franchise's first game. In 1904, he had one of the finest years in the history of pitching, starting 51 games and finishing 48 while posting a 1.82 ERA, struck out 239 batters, and 41 wins over 454.7 innings pitched. That year, no other pitcher in the league won more than 26. On the last day of the season, though, in a game against Boston, Chesbro threw a wild pitch in the top of the 9th inning, allowing the winning run to score from third base and causing the Highlanders to lose the pennant to Boston.
Chesbro retired in 1909, having accumulated a 198-132 career record and been part of two pennant-winning teams (in 1901 and 1902). His first Baseball Card appearance was in the 1903-1904 E107 Breisch Williams.
Chesbro served as a Washington Senators coach in 1924 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1946.
His 1904 record for games won in a season (41 wins) has stood for over a century, which is one of the oldest major records in baseball, or in any other sport. Under current playing practices, his record is unbreakable. Chesbro started 51 games that season (plus 4 relief appearances) and pitched 48 complete games, for a record of 41-12. Today, it is uncommon for a pitcher to start even 35 games in a season and complete games are a rarety. The only other 40 win season since 1900 was 40 by Ed Walsh in 1908.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 2-time League Wins Leader (1902/NL & 1904/AL)
- 2-time League Winning Percentage Leader (1902/NL & 1904/AL)
- 2-time AL Games Pitched Leader (1904 & 1906)
- AL Innings Pitched Leader (1904)
- AL Complete Games Leader (1904)
- 2-time NL Shutouts Leader (1901 & 1902)
- 15 Wins Seasons: 7 (1900-1906)
- 20 Wins Seasons: 5 (1901-1904 & 1906)
- 25 Wins Seasons: 2 (1902 & 1904)
- 30 Wins Seasons: 1 (1904)
- 35 Wins Seasons: 1 (1904)
- 40 Wins Seasons: 1 (1904)
- 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 9 (1900-1908)
- 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 4 (1903-1906)
- 400 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1904)
- 200 Strikeouts Seasons: 1 (1904)
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1946
[edit] Records Held
- Wins, season (since 1893), 41, 1904
- Wins, right-hander, season (since 1893), 41, 1904
[edit] Related Sites
Some or all content from this article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jack Chesbro".
