Jack Chesbro
Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right • Throws: Right
5-9, 180lb (175cm, 81kg)
Born: June 5, 1874 in North Adams, MA us
Died: November 6, 1931 in Conway, MA
Buried: Howland Cemetery, Conway, MA
Debut: 1899 (2,122nd in major league history)
Last Game: October 2, 1909
Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1946. (Voted by Old Timers Committee)
Induction ceremony in Cooperstown held in 1947.
View Jack Chesbro’s Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos).
Full Name: John Dwight Chesbro
Nicknames: Happy Jack
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
Players Who Debuted Sin 1899
Sam Crawford
Joe McGinnity
Noodles Hahn
Jack Chesbro
Roy Thomas
Bill Bradley
Freddy Parent
Deacon Phillippe
Jimmy Williams
The Jack Chesbro Teammate Team
C: Bill Carrigan
1B: Hal Chase
2B: Jimmy Williams
3B: Tommy Leach
SS: Kid Elberfeld
LF: Willie Keeler
CF: Tris Speaker
RF: Fred Clarke
SP: Deacon Phillippe
SP: Sam Leever
SP: Jesse Tannehill
SP: Al Orth
SP: Smoky Joe Wood
RP: Rube Waddell
M: Clark Griffith
Notable Events and Chronology
Biography
When Chesbro’s spitball sailed over the catcher’s head and the winning run scored from third on the last day of the 1904 season, the Highlanders (later the Yankees) lost the pennant. At the time, it overshadowed Chesbro’s outstanding season of 41 wins, in which he completed his first 30 starts. He pitched 454 innings in 55 games.
Chesbro’s career began slowly, with a minor league career plagued by the misfortune of being with shaky franchises that folded in mid-season. Finally he joined the Atlantic League, organized by Ed Barrow, and worked his way to the majors. He joined Pittsburgh mid-season of 1899.
Chesbro’s fame as a pitcher began when he pitched the Pirates to their first pennants in 1901 and 1902. In 1902 he picked up the spitball, at a time when its peculiar properties were first being discovered by a number of pitchers. He strung together enough starring seasons to offset his relatively short career. He had only 12 seasons in the major leagues, 9 as a regular starter. Still, with his extraordinary 1904 season, he gained election to the Hall of Fame in 1948.
After Chesbro’s pitching skills had dried up and he left the major leagues, he began a prosperous career as a merchant in New England, running a saw mill and lumber yard in North Adams, MA. He continued to pitch, appearing with semi-pro teams, traveling to take on mill town teams who found the pitching of the former major league superstar easy to hit.
He was baseball coach at Amherst College in 1911, and in 1924 Clark Griffith, his manager in 1904, brought him back to the major leagues for a brief role as a coach for the Washington Senators. Although the team was to win the pennant, fans were slow to respond and Chesbro was dropped for payroll reasons.@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@
Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts
Jack Chesbro won 41 games in 1904, but it was his 12th loss that everyone remembered. On the final day of the season, the Highlanders (later to become the Yankees), were trailing the Puritans (later the Red Sox) by a game and a half, with a doubleheader scheduled. Chesbro started the first contest and was battling in a tie game when his wild pitch (some claimed passed ball) allowed the winning run to score. The New Yorkers never came as close to a pennant in their next 16 seasons.
Played For
Pittsburgh Pirates (1899-1902)
New York Yankees (1903-1909)
Boston Red Sox (1909)
Similar: Deacon Phillippe, George Mullin
Linked: Deacon Phillippe, Sam Leever, Jesse Tannehill
Best Season, 1904
He led the AL in wins (41), games, innings, and complete games. His 41 wins were 45% of the New Yorkers total for that season. The team finished one game out of first place.
Transactions
Claimed on waivers by Boston Red Sox from New York Highlanders (September 11, 1909).
Pitchers who hit a Homer on their Birthday
Since 1900, only a handful of pitchers have hit a home run on their birthday. Here’s the complete list, which features Hall of Famers Chesbro and Kid Nichols. Randy Wolf, 8/22/2002 Bob Knepper, 5/25/1979 Don Drysdale, 7/23/1965 Jack Harshman, 7/12/1956 Turk Lown, 5/30/1956 Bubba Church, 9/12/1952 Bob Hooper, 5/30/1950 Freddie Fitzsimmons, 7/26/1930 Jack Scott, 4/18/1923 Howie Camnitz, 8/22/1910 Jack Chesbro , 6/5/1906 Chief Bender, 5/5/1906 Kid Nichols, 9/14/190
No Fluke
Chesbro is often cited as a one-year wonder, but he was more than that, winning twenty games five times, and 19 once. He posted a .600 winning percentage on teams that were .532 when others were pitching.
Best Strength as a Player
In his prime he was very durable.
Largest Weakness as a Player
Chesbro was not a great fielding pitcher. He once made 12 errors in a single season, and he committed 56 errors in his career, or one every seven games.
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