Willard Eben Mains was an American

United States

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

 professional baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 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...

. He joined 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...

 at the age of 19 with the Chicago White Stockings

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

, started

Games started

In baseball statistics, games started indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he faces the first opposing batter...

 two games in , winning

Win (baseball)

In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...

 one and losing the other. After that season, he didn't return to the Majors until , when he pitched in 30 games, starting 23 of them, for the Cincinnati Kelly's Killers of the American Association

American Association (19th century)

The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...

. He had a record of 12-12 with 20 complete game

Complete game

In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...

s before he moved on and pitched two games for the Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers (AA)

The 1891 Milwaukee Brewers were an American professional baseball team and a member of the minor league Western Association and Western League and the major league American Association. They were managed by Charlie Cushman and finished their major league stint with a record of 21-15...

, also of the Association. He wasn't seen again in the Major Leagues again until five years later when he surfaced for the Boston Beaneaters

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

, with whom he pitched in eight games, winning three games, losing two. His son, Jim Mains

Jim Mains

James Royal Mains was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played one game for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1943.-Biography:...

 pitched one game in the majors, for the Philadelphia Athletics

Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

.

Mains had a long career in minor league baseball

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

, where he recorded a record of 318 wins and 179 losses in 545 games

Games pitched

In baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while...

. Willard died at the age of 54 in Bridgton, Maine, and interred at South High Street Cemetery in Bridgton.

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