Nelson Potter of the St. Louis Browns becomes the first major league pitcher to be suspended for throwing a spitball
On July 20, 1944 — Browns’ hurler Nels Potter is banned for ten days, becoming the first pitcher ever to be suspended for throwing a spitball. The spitball, shine ball, and emery ball were outlawed by the major league’s Joint Rules Committee in 1920, which allowed the seventeen pitchers using the doctored pitches at the…