Dutch Leonard (left-handed pitcher) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Hubert Benjamin "Dutch" Leonard, (April 16, 1892 – July 11, 1952) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

left-handed pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

who had an 11-year career from 1913–1921, 1924-1925. He played for the Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

and Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

, and holds the major league modern-era record for the lowest single-season ERA

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

of all time — 0.96 in 1914. The all-time record holder is Tim Keefe

Tim Keefe

Timothy John "Tim" Keefe , nicknamed "Smiling Tim" and "Sir Timothy", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was one of the most dominating pitchers of the 19th century and posted impressive statistics in one category or another for almost every season he pitched...

with a 0.86 ERA

Earned run average

in 1880. Another pitcher called Dutch Leonard

Dutch Leonard (right-handed pitcher)

Emil John "Dutch" Leonard was an American professional baseball player. He played in in Major League Baseball as a right-handed knuckleball pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers , Washington Senators , Philadelphia Phillies , and Chicago Cubs...

pitched in the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

around a decade later.

Early years

Born in Birmingham, Ohio

Birmingham, Ohio

There are multiple places named Birmingham in the U.S. state of Ohio:*Birmingham, Erie County, Ohio*Birmingham, Guernsey County, Ohio...

, Leonard played baseball for the Saint Mary's College of California

Saint Mary's College of California

Saint Mary's College of California is a private, coeducational college located in Moraga, California, United States, a small suburban community about east of Oakland and 20 miles east of San Francisco. It has a 420-acre campus in the Moraga hills. It is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church...

"Gaels" in Moraga, California

Moraga, California

Moraga is a suburban incorporated town located in Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is named in honor of Joaquin Moraga, whose grandfather was José Joaquin Moraga, second in command to Juan Bautista de Anza...

, from 1910-1911. In 1912, he played for the Denver Grizzlies of the Western League, where he compiled a 22-9 record with 326 strikeout

Strikeout

In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

s and an ERA

Earned run average

of 2.50.

Boston Red Sox

Leonard broke in with the Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

in 1913. In his second year in the major leagues, , Leonard led the American League with a remarkable 0.96 ERA

Earned run average

– the modern era MLB record for single-season ERA, not counting Tim Keefe

Tim Keefe

's record of 0.86 in his first MLB season. Leonard also pitched well in Boston's 1915 and 1916 World Series victories. He won Game 3 of the 1915 World Series

1915 World Series

In the 1915 World Series, the Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies four games to one.In their only World Series before , the Phillies won Game 1 before being swept the rest of the way. It was 65 years before the Phillies won their next Series game...

, outduelling the Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

' Grover Cleveland Alexander

Grover Cleveland Alexander

Grover Cleveland Alexander , nicknamed "Old Pete", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938.-Career:Alexander was born in Elba, Nebraska, one of thirteen...

2-1. He also won Game 4 of the 1916 World Series

1916 World Series

In the 1916 World Series, the Boston Red Sox beat the Brooklyn Robins four games to one.Casey Stengel shone on offense for the Robins in the 1916 Series but the Red Sox pitching core ultimately proved too much for the denizens of Flatbush...

against the Brooklyn Robins.

Leonard also pitched two no-hitter

No-hitter

A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...

s for the Red Sox, the first in 1916 against the St. Louis Browns

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

and the second in 1918 against the Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers

In January 1919, the Red Sox sold Leonard to the Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers

, where Leonard played from 1919–1921 and 1924-1925. Leonard became embroiled in a salary dispute with Tigers' owner Frank Navin

Frank Navin

Francis Joseph Navin was the principal owner of the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball for 27 years, from 1909 to 1935. He also served as vice president and acting president of the American League....

in 1922, and Leonard opted to play for Fresno

Fresno, California

Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...

, in the San Joaquin Valley League

San Joaquin Valley League

The San Joaquin Valley League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1910 through 1911. The league operated primarily in the San Joaquin Valley in California...

in 1922 and 1923. Leonard was suspended by the American League for his actions, but he rejoined the Tigers in 1924 where he feuded with Tigers manager Ty Cobb

Ty Cobb

Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...

. Leonard pitched his final major league game in July 1925.

Dutch Leonard and Ty Cobb

Even before their player-manager feud, Leonard and Cobb had a history. In 1914, Leonard hit Cobb in the ribs with a fastball. In the next at bat, Cobb dragged a bunt which the Red Sox first baseman was forced to field. Cobb later described the play as follows: "Leonard ran to first to take the throw. When he saw I was going for him and not the bag, he kept running into the coaching box. Damned coward. I ignored the bag, drove right through after him ... he ran toward the dugout and missed cutting him by inches." (Al Stump

Al Stump

Al Stump , was an American author and Sports writer. Stump spent a great deal of time with Ty Cobb before Cobb's death. Stump wrote one book with Cobb, one book on Cobb and a handful of magazine articles about the time the two men spent together...

, Cobb: The Life and Times of the Meanest Man Who Ever Played Baseball, p. 213)

A full feud broke when Cobb took over as the Tigers' manager in 1921. Cobb took pleasure in fining Leonard, who enjoyed late nights, for violating curfew. At one point in the 1921 season, Leonard was 11-13, despite a respectable ERA; Cobb left his office door open so that Leonard could hear him on the phone, faking a call: "I'm putting that damned Dutchman on waivers." (Al Stump, Cobb, p. 140) In 1922, Leonard and Cobb fought over how to pitch to George Sisler

George Sisler

George Harold Sisler , nicknamed "Gentleman George" and "Gorgeous George," was an American professional baseball player for 15 seasons, primarily as first baseman with the St. Louis Browns...

and Tris Speaker

Tris Speaker

Tristram E. Speaker , nicknamed "Spoke" and "The Grey Eagle", was an American baseball player. Considered one of the best offensive and defensive center fielders in the history of Major League Baseball, he compiled a career batting average of .345 , and still holds the record of 792 career doubles...

. Leonard cursed Cobb to his face during the dispute, and Leonard ended up quitting the team in 1921, calling Cobb a "horse's ass." (Al Stump, Cobb, p. 340)

When Leonard returned to the Tigers in 1924 after two seasons in the San Joaquin Valley League

San Joaquin Valley League

The San Joaquin Valley League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1910 through 1911. The league operated primarily in the San Joaquin Valley in California...

, the feud with Cobb resumed. By the middle of the 1925 season, Leonard was 11-3, but that did not stop Cobb from accusing Leonard of being a shirker. In front of the team, Cobb berated Leonard: "Don't you dare turn bolshevik on me. I'm the boss here." (Richard Bak, Peach, p. 147) Leonard accused Cobb of over-working him, and Cobb responded in July 1925 by leaving Leonard on the mound for an entire game despite Leonard's giving up 20 hits and taking a 12-4 beating. After that, Leonard refused to pitch for Cobb. As a result, the Tigers put Leonard on waivers, and when no team picked him up, his baseball career came to an end. (Al Stump, Cobb, p. 364)

Rumors began to spread that Leonard was claiming he "had something" on Cobb. Leonard was quoted as saying, "I am going to expose that bastard Cobb, I'll ruin him." (Al Stump, Cobb, p. 371) And in 1926 Leonard sought his revenge, contacting Kenesaw Mountain Landis

Kenesaw Mountain Landis

Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...

and accusing Cobb of being involved in gambling and/or fixing games with Tris Speaker

Tris Speaker

. Leonard claimed that Speaker and Cobb had conspired before a 1919 Tigers-Indians game to allow the Tigers to win, enabling the team to reach third place and qualify for World Series money. To corroborate his story, Leonard produced letters written at the time (one by Cobb and one by Smoky Joe Wood) that obliquely referred to gambling or game-fixing. When Landis made Leonard's letter public in December 1926, it started a scandal.

Cobb was called to testify at a hearing before Commissioner Landis, and denied Leonard's allegations. Cobb noted that Leonard "had the reputation in the past of being a bolshevik on the club." (Al Stump, Cobb, p. 382) Leonard declined to appear and testify at the hearing, saying he feared a physical attack from "that wild man." In the absence of Leonard's testimony, Landis found Cobb and Speaker not guilty.

Career outside baseball

Leonard did well for himself after baseball. He became a very successful California fruit farmer and wine maker. He was also an expert left-handed golfer. Leonard died in 1952 at age 60 from complications of a stroke. He is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Fresno, California

Fresno, California

. His estate at the time of his death was reportedly worth $2.1 million ($ today).

Sources

David Jones, "Hubert Benjamin 'Dutch' Leonard", in Deadball Stars of the American League, SABR, Potomac Books (2006).
Al Stump
Al Stump
Al Stump , was an American author and Sports writer. Stump spent a great deal of time with Ty Cobb before Cobb's death. Stump wrote one book with Cobb, one book on Cobb and a handful of magazine articles about the time the two men spent together...

, Cobb: The Life and Times of the Meanest Man Who Ever Played Baseball.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Early years

Boston Red Sox

Detroit Tigers

Dutch Leonard and Ty Cobb

Career outside baseball

Sources

See also

External links