Harry Howell (baseball player)
Encyclopedia
Harry Taylor Howell born in New Jersey
was a pitcher
for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms/Brooklyn Superbas (1898 and 1900), Baltimore Orioles (1899), Baltimore Orioles
/New York Highlanders (1901-03) and St. Louis Browns
(1904-10).
He helped the Superbas win the 1900 National League
Pennant.
He led the National League in Games Finished in 1900 (10) and the American League in 1903 (10) and led the American League in Complete Games (35) in 1905.
He currently ranks 82nd on the MLB All-Time ERA List (2.74), 87th on the All-Time Complete Games List (244) and 68th on the Hit Batsmen List (97).
He is also the Baltimore Orioles Career Leader in ERA (2.06).
In 13 seasons he had a 131-146 Win-Loss record, 340 Games (282 Started), 244 Complete Games, 20 Shutouts, 53 Games Finished, 6 Saves, 2,567 ⅔ Innings Pitched, 2,435 Hits Allowed, 1,158 Runs Allowed, 781 Earned Runs Allowed, 27 Home Runs Allowed, 677 Walks, 986 Strikeouts, 97 Hit Batsmen, 53 Wild Pitches, 7,244 Batters Faced, 1 Balk, 2.74 ERA and a 1.212 WHIP.
He died in Spokane, Washington
at the age of 79.
, the Browns player-manager, was involved in the scandal surrounding efforts to help Cleveland's Nap Lajoie
win the batting title
and the associated 1910 Chalmers Award
over Ty Cobb
in the last two games of the season, a doubleheader
at Sportsman's Park
. Cobb was leading Lajoie .385 to .376 in the batting race going into that last day. O'Connor ordered rookie
third baseman
Red Corriden
to station himself in shallow left field to allow what otherwise would be routine infield ground outs to be base hits. Lajoie bunted five straight times down the third base line and made it to first easily. On his last at-bat, Lajoie reached base on a fielding error
, officially giving him a hitless at-bat and lowering his average. O'Connor and Howell tried to bribe the official scorer, a woman, to change the call to a hit, offering to buy her a new wardrobe. Cobb won the batting title by less than one point over Lajoie, .385069 to .384095. The resulting outcry triggered an investigation by American League president Ban Johnson
, who declared Cobb the rightful winner of the batting title (though Chalmers awarded cars to both players). At his insistence, Browns' owner Robert Hedges
fired both O'Connor and Howell, and released them as players; both men were informally banned from baseball for life.
In 1981, however, research revealed that one game was counted twice for Cobb when he went 2-for-3. As a result, his 1910 batting statistics should have been shown as 194-for-506 and .383399, less than 0.7 points behind Lajoie at 227-for-591.
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
was a 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...
for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms/Brooklyn Superbas (1898 and 1900), Baltimore Orioles (1899), Baltimore Orioles
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
/New York Highlanders (1901-03) and 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...
(1904-10).
He helped the Superbas win the 1900 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...
Pennant.
He led the National League in Games Finished in 1900 (10) and the American League in 1903 (10) and led the American League in Complete Games (35) in 1905.
He currently ranks 82nd on the MLB All-Time ERA List (2.74), 87th on the All-Time Complete Games List (244) and 68th on the Hit Batsmen List (97).
He is also the Baltimore Orioles Career Leader in ERA (2.06).
In 13 seasons he had a 131-146 Win-Loss record, 340 Games (282 Started), 244 Complete Games, 20 Shutouts, 53 Games Finished, 6 Saves, 2,567 ⅔ Innings Pitched, 2,435 Hits Allowed, 1,158 Runs Allowed, 781 Earned Runs Allowed, 27 Home Runs Allowed, 677 Walks, 986 Strikeouts, 97 Hit Batsmen, 53 Wild Pitches, 7,244 Batters Faced, 1 Balk, 2.74 ERA and a 1.212 WHIP.
He died in Spokane, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
at the age of 79.
Scandal
Howell, along with the Jack O'ConnorJack O'Connor
Jack O'Connor may refer to:*Jack O'Connor *Jack O'Connor , Australian cricketer*Jack O'Connor , English cricketer...
, the Browns player-manager, was involved in the scandal surrounding efforts to help Cleveland's Nap Lajoie
Nap Lajoie
Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie , also known as Larry Lajoie, was an American Major League Baseball second baseman. He was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island...
win the batting title
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
and the associated 1910 Chalmers Award
1910 Chalmers Award
Before the 1910 Major League Baseball season, Hugh Chalmers of the Chalmers Automobile Company announced a promotion in which a Chalmers Model 30 automobile would be given to the batting champions for Major League Baseball's American and National Leagues....
over 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...
in the last two games of the season, a doubleheader
Doubleheader (baseball)
A doubleheader is a set of two baseball games played between the same two teams on the same day in front of the same crowd. In addition, the term is often used unofficially to refer to a pair of games played by a team in a single day, but in front of different crowds and not in immediate...
at Sportsman's Park
Sportsman's Park
Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, all but one of which were located on the same piece of land, the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street on the north side of the city.- History :From...
. Cobb was leading Lajoie .385 to .376 in the batting race going into that last day. O'Connor ordered rookie
Rookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
Red Corriden
Red Corriden
John Michael "Red" Corriden was a player, coach, manager and scout in American Major League Baseball. A shortstop and third baseman in his playing days, Corriden appeared in 223 major league games with the St. Louis Browns , Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs , batting .205...
to station himself in shallow left field to allow what otherwise would be routine infield ground outs to be base hits. Lajoie bunted five straight times down the third base line and made it to first easily. On his last at-bat, Lajoie reached base on a fielding error
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
, officially giving him a hitless at-bat and lowering his average. O'Connor and Howell tried to bribe the official scorer, a woman, to change the call to a hit, offering to buy her a new wardrobe. Cobb won the batting title by less than one point over Lajoie, .385069 to .384095. The resulting outcry triggered an investigation by American League president Ban Johnson
Ban Johnson
Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson , was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League ....
, who declared Cobb the rightful winner of the batting title (though Chalmers awarded cars to both players). At his insistence, Browns' owner Robert Hedges
Robert Hedges (baseball)
Robert Hedges was the owner of the St. Louis Browns of the American League from through . Hedges was instrumental in bringing Branch Rickey into the Browns' front office. He sold the Browns to Phil Ball after the 1915 season.-References:...
fired both O'Connor and Howell, and released them as players; both men were informally banned from baseball for life.
In 1981, however, research revealed that one game was counted twice for Cobb when he went 2-for-3. As a result, his 1910 batting statistics should have been shown as 194-for-506 and .383399, less than 0.7 points behind Lajoie at 227-for-591.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
- MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen ListMLB All-Time Hit Batsmen ListThis is a list of top 100 Major League Baseball pitchers who have the most hit batsmen of all time. There is an of hitters who have been hit by pitch the most times.Active players are denoted in bold text.-The List:* Bold denotes active player...
- 1910 Chalmers Award1910 Chalmers AwardBefore the 1910 Major League Baseball season, Hugh Chalmers of the Chalmers Automobile Company announced a promotion in which a Chalmers Model 30 automobile would be given to the batting champions for Major League Baseball's American and National Leagues....