Pud Galvin Stats & Facts
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Pud Galvin
Positions: Starting Pitcher and Outfielder
Bats: Right • Throws: Right
5-8, 190lb (173cm, 86kg)
Born: December 25, 1856 in St. Louis, MO
Died: March 7, 1902 in Pittsburgh, PA
Buried: Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh, PA
Last Game: August 2, 1892
Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1965. (Voted by Veteran’s Committee)
View Pud Galvin’s Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos).
Full Name: James Francis Galvin
Nicknames: Pud, Gentle Jeems or The Little Steam Engine
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
Notable Events and Chronology for Pud Galvin Career
Biography
James “Pud” Galvin, the winningest pitcher to ever suit up for the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise. He joined the team having already won 222 games by the age of 28, and by the time he retired following the 1893 season, he would be the major league leader in wins. That was a record he would hold until he was passed by Cy Young in 1903. Pittsburgh purchased Galvin from the Buffalo Bisons of the National League on July 13, 1885. He went just 3-7 that first year for the Alleghenys and the team went 13-26 from August 1st until the end of the season. The next year Galvin was back in form, winning 29 games and pitching 434 innings. He helped Pittsburgh to a 80-57 record, which in turn helped lead to their invitation to leave the American Association and join the National League the following season.
With the Alleghenys in 1887 Galvin went 28-21, 3.21, pitching 440 innings. He lowered his ERA to 2.63 in 1888, but the record suffered with poor run support as he went 23-25 in 50 starts/49 complete games (one tie). Six of those games were shutouts. He won his 300th career game on September 4, 1888 over the Indianapolis Hoosiers. Galvin won 23 games for Pittsburgh in 1889, then he moved on to the newly formed Player’s League with most of his teammates in 1890. When the league folded he returned to the Pirates/Alleghenys where he went 15-14, 2.88 in 33 games. He pitched well early for the Pirates in 1892, but was traded after just 10 games to St Louis for Cub Stricker.
Galvin won 365 career games, a number made more impressive by the fact he played for some bad teams during his career. He retired at age 35, despite posting a 2.92 ERA his last season and he didn’t play in the majors from 1876-78, even though he had a 1.16 ERA in eight games during his rookie season of 1875. He still ranks second all-time in innings pitched and complete games, trailing in both to Cy Young. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1965
Despite his outstanding pitching record, James Francis “Pud” Galvin (1856-1902) was largely forgotten after his premature death. During his 18-year career with Pittsburgh, Buffalo and St. Louis, he was one of the best-paid players in the game–but died penniless. The diminutive hurler was the first to reach 300 wins (and only four pitchers have amassed more). A determined researcher documented Galvin’s record decades after his death and he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1965 with 365 wins. Galvin has another claim to fame his use of a testosterone-based concoction–with eye-popping results–which earned him newfound attention as a pioneer of performance-enhancing drugs.
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