Early life edit
Alexander was born on February 26, 1887, in Elba, Nebraska, the second-youngest of 13 sons born to William and Martha Alexander, and was named after the President of the United States at the time, Grover Cleveland. Growing up on the family farm, he developed his pitching abilities by throwing stones at a number of targets.[1] He played with a number of youth baseball teams in and around Elba throughout his adolescence.[2]
On July 27, 1909, Alexander was running the bases for the Galesburg Boosters in the semi-professional Illinois–Missouri League when he was struck unconscious by a missed throw on a double play attempt. The hit rendered him unconscious for several days and damaged his optic nerve, leaving Alexander with double vision until the following spring, when he was traded to the Syracuse Stars of the New York State League.[3] It is believed that the injury caused Alexander to develop epilepsy, a condition that would cause grand mal seizures throughout his professional baseball career.[4]
Career edit
Philadelphia Phillies (1911–1917) edit
In 1910, Patsy O'Rourke, a scout for the Philadelphia Phillies, noticed Alexander during a Syracuse game and reported back to franchise owner Horace Fogel, telling him "you better grab this Alexander before someone else does".[5]
- 1911
- 1912
- 1913
- 1914
- 1915
Alexander started Game 1 of the 1915 World Series against the Boston Red Sox, allowing one run on eight hits and two walks in a complete game that the Phillies took 3–1. The Red Sox took the series in five games, winning each subsequent game by one run. Alexander's start was the last time the Phillies won a World Series game until the 1980 World Series champion team.[6]
- 1916
- 1917
Alexander started for the Phillies on opening day of the 1917 season, pitching a 6-5 complete game victory over Leon Cadore of the Brooklyn Dodgers.[7] When President Woodrow Wilson signed the Selective Service Act of 1917 into law on May 18, requiring all American males between the ages of 21 and 31 to register for military conscription and potential service in World War I, Alexander was one of 11 Phillies to register for the draft.[8]
He joined Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants as the only two pitchers to record a three-year streak of 30 or more wins.[9]
On December 11, 1917, Phillies owner William Baker, short on cash and fearing that Alexander would be taken in the military draft, traded him and catcher Bill Killefer to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for pitcher Mike Prendergast, catcher Pickles Dillhoefer, and $60,000 USD.[10] The trade predicated a 31-year losing stretch for the Phillies. From 1883 to 1917, the team finished in first place in the NL East 21 out of 35 seasons. Between 1918 and 1948, they finished in last place 16 times, and lost at least 100 games in 12 different seasons.[11]
Chicago Cubs (1918–1926) edit
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Alexander had told Cubs president Charles Weeghman that he did not anticipate the draft to be an issue – as his mother was dependent on him, he was likely in Class 3. He learned that January, however, that he had actually been placed in Class 1-A, the first draft class to be called when necessary.[12] He passed his medical exam despite his epilepsy, but when he did not receive a notice to report for service by the spring, Alexander began preparing for the 1918 Major League Baseball season as normal.[13] On April 12, four days before the Cubs' season was set to begin, Alexander was called to attend basic training at Camp Funston in Kansas.[14]
- 1918
- 1919
- 1920
- 1921
- 1922
- 1923
- 1924
- 1925
- 1926
Alexander clashed with new Chicago manager Joe McCarthy throughout the 1926 season: McCarthy was frustrated with Alexander's drinking, while Alexander was unimpressed with McCarthy's inexperience, remarking once that he "wasn't being ordered around by a bush league manager".[15] On June 22, 1926, the Cubs placed Alexander on waivers, and after being passed over by the first four MLB teams on the waiver list, he was claimed by Rogers Hornsby and the St. Louis Cardinals.[16]
St. Louis Cardinals (1926–1929) edit
Alexander's first game with his new team was against the Cubs, and he pitched all ten innings of the 4–3 St. Louis victory, allowing only four hits in the process.[17] Alexander's arrival brought increased attention and revenue to the Cardinals: that first game drew a crowd of 37,718; previously, no Cardinals home game had more than 25,000 in attendance.[18] Over the course of the season, he developed a strong rapport with Hornsby, who did not attempt to control Alexander's pitches or drinking habit in the same way that McCarthy had.[19] Alexander made 23 appearances for the Cardinals after his trade, including 16 starts and 11 complete games. In that time, he went 9–7 with a 2.91 ERA and struck out 35 batters in 148+1⁄3 innings.[20] The Cardinals, meanwhile, were first in the National League, their 89–65 record both two games ahead of the runner-up Cincinnati Reds and the lowest first-place record of any team in NL history.[21]
- 1926
- 1927
- 1928
- 1929
Return to the Phillies (1930) edit
- 1930
Career statistics and reputation edit
Alexander pitched in a total of 696 games (600 starts) and 5,190 innings in his 20-year MLB career. He pitched in 436 complete games, including 90 shutouts. He had a career win–loss record of 373–208, an ERA of 2.56, a WHIP of 1.121, and he struck out 2,198 batters between 1911 and 1930.[20] Alexander is the third-winningest pitcher in MLB history, with his 373 wins behind only Cy Young (511) and Walter Johnson (417).[22] His shutouts with the Phillies at Baker Bowl were considered particularly impressive by his teammate Hans Lobert, as the right field fence was only 280 feet (85 m) away from home plate, making it easy for a left-handed batter to hit a home run.[23][a]
Alexander's struggles with alcohol addiction have cast a shadow over his baseball career.[citation needed] During his first stint with the Phillies, it did not seem to be an issue: although he had a penchant for beer, he mostly avoided hard liquor and rarely became drunk.[12]
Later life and death edit
While the coroner's report noted the cause of death as a myocardial infarction, his wife maintained that he had died from the complications of a fall during one of his seizures.[25]
Legacy edit
| |
| Grover Cleveland Alexander was honored alongside the retired numbers of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2001. |
Alexander was the only MLB player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in 1938, with 80.9 percent of voters supporting his induction. George Sisler came in second with 68.3 percent voting in favor, well below the 75 percent threshold for induction.[26] It was Alexander's third time on the ballot: he had received 55 votes (24.3 percent approval) in the inaugural 1936 ballot,[27][28] and 62.2 percent the year later.[29] Although he attended the inaugural induction ceremony in Cooperstown, New York on June 12, 1939, Alexander was dismissive of the award, which carried no monetary value. He told reporters in 1944, "I'm proud to be there, but I can't eat the Hall of Fame."[30]
Outside of the National Baseball Hall of Fame (NBHOF), both the Cubs and Phillies have elected Alexander to their respective team halls of fame. As a member of the NBHOF, Alexander received an automatic induction to the Cubs Hall of Fame upon its 1982 unveiling. [31] This Hall was retired four years late, and he was not included in the Walk of Fame that existed between 1992 and 1998. Upon the 2021 rededication of Wrigley Field, however, all 41 players who were part of the original Cubs Hall of Fame, plus all Cubs recognized by the NBHOF, were elected to a new iteration of the team Hall of Fame.[32] The Phillies, meanwhile, inducted Alexander and Al Simmons of the Philadelphia Athletics into the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame on August 21, 1981.[33] In 2001, Alexander was also added to the Phillies' gallery of retired numbers. Because the team did not have specific uniform numbers when he played for them, the block letter "P" on his jersey was retired in place of a number.[34] He and Chuck Klein are the only two members of the Phillies to have a jersey retired without an associated number.[35]
In 2020, a local baseball fan started a petition to induct Alexander into the Nebraska Hall of Fame, a collection of prominent individuals from the state. From 1961 until 1996, one person was added to the Hall of Fame every two years; after 1998, the process became every five years.[36] If selected in 2021, Alexander would become the first athlete inducted into the state Hall of Fame, which consists predominantly of politicians, writers, and military figures.[37]
Notes edit
- ^ By contrast, the right field wall at Citizens Bank Park, the current home of the Phillies, is 369 feet (112 m) from home plate.[24]
References edit
- ^ Swaine 2004, p. 160.
- ^ Paul, Andrea I. (1990). "His Own Worst Enemy: The Rise and Fall of Grover Cleveland Alexander" (PDF). Nebraska History. 71 (1): 2–12. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- ^ Swaine 2004, p. 162.
- ^ Swaine 2004, p. 159.
- ^ Zolecki 2010, p. 141.
- ^ Zolecki 2010, pp. 4–5.
- ^ Leeke 2021, p. 8.
- ^ Leeke 2021, pp. 9–11.
- ^ Leeke 2021, p. 16.
- ^ Zolecki 2010, p. 164.
- ^ Zolecki 2010, p. 43.
- ^ a b Leeke 2021, p. 35.
- ^ Leeke 2021, p. 39.
- ^ Leeke 2021, p. 44.
- ^ Lieb 2001, p. 111.
- ^ Lieb 2001, pp. 111–112.
- ^ Golenbock 2000, p. 103.
- ^ Lieb 2001, p. 113.
- ^ Golenbock 2000, pp. 104–105.
- ^ a b "Pete Alexander Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- ^ Lieb 2001, p. 117.
- ^ Zolecki 2010, p. 139.
- ^ Ritter 1992, p. 194.
- ^ Gartland, Dan (March 24, 2021). "MLB Outfield Walls, Ranked". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- ^ Swaine 2004, p. 167.
- ^ "1938 Hall of Fame Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- ^ "222 Ballots Name Ty Cobb No. 1 Immortal In Baseball Hall of Fame". The Baltimore Sun. Associated Press. February 3, 1936. p. 10. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- ^ "1936 Hall of Fame Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- ^ "1937 Hall of Fame Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- ^ Finkel, Jan. "Pete Alexander". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- ^ Markus, Robert (August 22, 1982). "Old-timers still have it". Chicago Tribune. p. 4-2. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- ^ "Sports watch". The Philadelphia Inquirer. August 21, 1981. p. 9. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Constantino, Rocco (2016). 50 Moments That Defined Major League Baseball. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-442-26055-9.
- ^ Salisbury, Jim (August 13, 2020). "Phillies to retire Dick Allen's No. 15; Cooperstown next?". NBC Sports Philadelphia. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- ^ Buckley, Dennis (August 5, 2020). "Petition promoted Grover Cleveland Alexander for Nebraska Hall of Fame". Lincoln Journal-Star. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- ^ Shatel, Tom (October 19, 2021). "The push to get Grover Cleveland Alexander in the Nebraska Hall of Fame". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
Bibliography edit
- Alexander, Charles C. (2002). Breaking the Slump: Baseball in the Depression Era. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11342-0.
- Briley, Ron (2011). The Baseball Film in Postwar America: A Critical Study, 1948–1962. Jefferson, NC and London, UK: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6123-3.
- Ehrgott, Roberts (2013). Mr. Wrigley's Ball Club: Chicago & the Cubs During the Jazz Age. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-6478-6.
- Golenbock, Peter (1996). Wrigleyville: A Magical History Tour of the Chicago Cubs. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-14079-7.
- Golenbock, Peter (2000). The Spirit of St. Louis: A History of the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns. New York, NY: Avon Books, Inc. ISBN 0-380-97660-9.
- Jordan, David M. (2012). Occasional Glory: The History of the Philadelphia Phillies (2nd ed.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-7028-0.
- Leeke, Jim (2021). The Best Team Over There: The Untold Story of Grover Cleveland Alexander and the Great War. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-1-496-21716-5.
- Lieb, Frederick G. (2001). The St. Louis Cardinals: The Story of a Great Baseball Club. Carbondale and Edwardsville, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 0-8093-2366-4.
- Posnanski, Joe (March 1, 2020). "The Baseball 100: No. 26, Grover Cleveland Alexander". The Athletic. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
- Ritter, Lawrence S. (1992). The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It (New enl. ed.). New York, NY: Quill. ISBN 0-688-11273-0.
- Skipper, John C. (2006). Wicked Curve: The Life and Troubled Times of Grover Cleveland Alexander. Jefferson, NC and London, UK: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-7864-2412-5.
- Swaine, Rick (2004). Beating the Breaks: Major League Ballplayers Who Overcame Disabilities. Jefferson, NC and London, UK: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-786-48195-8.
- Zolecki, Todd (2010). The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Philadelphia Phillies: Heart-Pounding, Jaw-Dropping, and Gut-Wrenching Moments from Philadelphia Phillies History. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-60078-164-3.