Grover Cleveland Alexander biography
Grover Cleveland Alexander, byname Old Pete, (born February 26, 1887, Elba, Nebraska, U.S.—died November 4, 1950, St. Paul, Nebraska), American skilled baseball participant, one of many most interesting right-handed pitchers within the historical past of the sport, often thought-about the best grasp of management. From 1911 to 1930 he gained 373 main league video games and misplaced 208. Alexander pitched for 3 National League (NL) groups throughout his main league profession: the Philadelphia Phillies (1911–17, 1930), the Chicago Cubs (1918–26), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1926–29).
Alexander grew up on a farm, the place his each day labours helped him develop the power and endurance that had been to turn out to be hallmarks of his pitching. He defied his father’s needs that he examine regulation and as a substitute took a job as a phone lineman so he might play baseball on the weekends. In 1909 Alexander started enjoying semiprofessionally, and his stellar pitching drew the eye of the Phillies, who introduced him to the key leagues in 1911.
In his first season Alexander gained a league-leading 28 video games. In his first seven seasons the workhorse pitcher led the NL in innings pitched six occasions and in full video games 5 occasions. In 1915 he gained the primary of three profession pitching Triple Crowns—the others got herae in 1916 and 1920—by topping the league in earned run common (1.22), strikeouts (241), and wins (31) as he helped the Phillies seize the primary NL pennant of their crew historical past. For three consecutive years (1915–17) he gained 30 or extra video games; in 1916, when he achieved 33 victories, 16 had been shutouts, a significant league report. (His profession complete of 90 shutouts is second solely to Walter Johnson’s 110.) Fearing that they might lose Alexander to the military as soon as the United States entered World War I, the Phillies traded him to the Cubs after the 1917 season.
Not solely did Alexander miss nearly all of the1918 season due to wartime service, however, on account of his time on the entrance, he misplaced listening to in a single ear, started experiencing epileptic seizures, and developed a ingesting drawback. Barring his standout Triple-Crown-winning 1920 season, Alexander’s postwar pitching was of a decidedly decrease high quality. Cubs administration grew weary of his alcoholism through the years and traded him to their rivals in St. Louis early within the 1926 season. However, essentially the most dramatic efficiency of Alexander’s profession got here within the 1926 World Series. In the seventh and deciding sport, he got here in as a aid pitcher within the seventh inning with the Cardinals main the New York Yankees 3 to 2 and with the bases loaded. With two out, he struck out future Hall of Famer Tony Lazzeri. He then pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings to clinch the title for the Cardinals. Alexander spent three extra seasons with the Cardinals and one with the Phillies earlier than he was launched in 1930. He then performed for the House of David crew (a crew fielded by a communal Christian non secular sect) till 1935.
Alexander’s alcoholism worsened after he left the game, and he spent his final years in diminished circumstances. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938.