Red Faber Stats & Facts
Red Faber
Position: Pitcher
Bats: Both • Throws: Right
6-2, 180lb (188cm, 81kg)
Born: September 6, 1888 in Cascade, IA us
Died: September 25, 1976 in Chicago, IL
Buried: Acacia Park Cemetery, Chicago, IL
High School: St. Joseph’s Academy (Dubuque, IA)
School: Loras College (Dubuque, IA)
Debut: April 17, 1914 (4,078th in major league history)
vs. CLE 4.1 IP, 4 H, 4 SO, 3 BB, 1 ER
Last Game: September 20, 1933
vs. NYY 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER, L
Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1964. (Voted by Veteran’s Committee)
View Red Faber’s Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos).
Full Name: Urban Clarence Faber
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
Notable Events and Chronology for Red Faber Career
Red Faber Biography
Faber was a steady, even-tempered spitballer whose long life in the second division probably kept him from the select 300-win club. With Chicago’s lineup decimated by the loss of the Black Sox stars, Faber endured 13 seasons in or below fifth place, and only three at .500 or above. His lifetime winning percentage of .545 was achieved mostly with teams below .500.
Faber acquired his spitter in 1911, after a sore arm ruined early tryouts with the Pirates. Sold to Des Moines (Western League), he had two sterling seasons, and was purchased by the White Sox for $3,500. The Sox and Giants scheduled a world tour after the 1913 season. Faber, who had not yet pitched an inning of major league ball, was loaned to the Giants when Christy Mathewson declined to take the trip. Faber won four exhibitions against his future teammates, and began his 20-year, one-team career in 1914.
He was the pitching star of the 1917 Series win over the Giants, missed most of 1918 in the Navy, and returned to help win the 1919 pennant with 11 victories. He was on the bench for the scandalous Series, however, with recurring arm trouble and the flu.
Faber’s peak years were 1921 and 1922, when he won 25 and 21 games while the Sox were finishing seventh and fifth. He led the league in ERA and complete games both years. From 1914 through 1923, he had ten consecutive winning seasons. But he was not overpowering. His 1,471 strikeouts are far down the all-time list, yet he always claimed success against Ruth and Cobb. Like many spitballers, he threw the spitter sparingly, for contrast, and with a variety of motions. Always poised, the excellent control pitcher became increasingly sager. In his 4,087 innings, he allowed only 110 HR (one every 37 innings), and hit only 104 batters (one every 39).
His oddest statistical feats came as a batter. A .134 switch hitter, in 1915 he walked seven times in a row. Twice, he made the most of his rare on-base appearances by stealing home.
Faber served several seasons as a White Sox coach. After baseball, he worked until his eighties on a Cook County Highway Department survey team.
Other Resources & Links
The Red Faber
Teammate Team
C: Ray Schalk
1B: Earl Sheely
2B: Eddie Collins
3B: Willie Kamm
LF: Joe Jackson
CF: Bibb Falk
RF: Al Simmons
SP: Eddie Cicotte
SP: Lefty Williams
SP: Ted Lyons
SP: Ted Blankenship
M: Donie Bush
Nine Players Who
Debuted in 1914
Babe Ruth
Harry Heilmann
George Burns
Everett Scott
Red Faber
Sad Sam Jones
Dolf Luque
Jack Tobin
Braggo Roth
Best Season, 1921
Either 1921 or 1922. In both seasons Faber won 20 games while leading the league in ERA (2.48, 2.81) and WHIP. Over those two years, Faber was 46-32, completing 63 of his 77 starts. He pitched a combined 682 2/3 innings and allowed just 20 home runs.
Post-Season Appearances
1917 World Series
Factoid
Red Faber made his final start against big league opponents in the 1933 City Series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Facing 24-year old Lon Warneke, 45-year old Faber won the game, 2-0.
Where He Played: Starting pitcher (483 games), relief pitcher (186 games)
Post-Season Notes
Faber was injured and did not appear in the 1919 World Series.
Feats: On July 14, 1915, Faber stole second base, third base and home in the same inning, helping himself to a 6-4 win over the Philadelphia A’s. Despite this bit of baserunning, don’t get the idea that Faber was a master on the paths. In 1917, Faber tried to steal third in a game against the Yankees, only to find teammate Buck Weaver already on the bag.
Batting Feats
July 14, 1915: Steal 2nd, 3rd, Home…
Switch-Hitter
Faber was a switch-hitter, but usually swung from the left side. On July 22, 1928, he faced right-handed Yankees’ hurler Wilcy Moore with the winning run on second base. Batting right-handed for some reason, Faber swung and missed the first two pitches. He then switched to batting left-handed and laced the next pitch for a game-winning single.
Hall of Fame Battery
Catcher Ray Schalk and pitcher Red Faber were teammates on the White Sox for 15 seasons, from 1914-1928. Both ended up in Cooperstown as Hall of Famers. Schalk was known as the finest defensive catcher in the American League during the late 1910s and 1920s. Faber won 20 games four times throwing to Schalk, and the two were good friends.
All Aces
The 1920 American League season was filled with drama and intrigue. While the White Sox were busy turning into the “Black Sox,” the team was grinding its way through a pennant race with Cleveland, who lost shortstop Ray Chapman in August when he was struck in the head with a pitch and died. The White Sox lost the pennant, but it wasn’t their pitching staff’s fault. Four Sox hurlers won twenty games: Faber (23-13), Lefty Williams (22-14), Eddie Cicotte (21-10) and Dickie Kerr (21-9).
Three Straight Starts
The following pitchers are the only men to start three consecutive scheduled games, since 1900: 1901 Joe McGinnity, Bal (Sep 9, both games Sep 12: LWL) 1904 Rube Waddell, PhiA (June 5-7: LWL) 1908 Walter Johnson, Was (Sep 4, 5, and 7: WWW – three shutouts) 1908 Ed Walsh, ChiA (Both games Sep 29, Oct 2: WWL) 1912 Ed Walsh, ChiA (June 12, 13, and 15: WWL) 1914 Pat Ragan, Bro (Second game of Aug 29, Sep 2 and 3: WWL) 1917 Red Faber, ChiA (Both games Sep 3, Sep 4: WWW)
Most Wins in Baseball (1915-1924)
Pete Alexander… 204 Walter Johnson… 198 Wilbur Cooper… 178 Stan Coveleski… 172 Red Faber … 164