Dave Ferriss

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Dave "Boo" Ferriss

Born:	December 5, 1921
Birthplace:	Shaw, Mississippi
Hometown:
Height:	6' 2"
Weight:	208 lbs,
Bats:	Left
Throws:	Right
Drafted:	1942: Amatuer Free Agent by the Boston Red Sox
College:	Mississippi State University
High School:
Other Teams:	None
Years with Boston:	1945 - 1950

1 Overall Career
2 Moment in the Sun
3 Trivia
4 External Links

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Overall Career

Career Numbers: 880/IP, 65-30/W-L, 3.64/ERA

The son of a Mississippi cotton farmer, David Meadow "Boo" Ferriss (born December 5, 1921 in Shaw, MS), was the first baseball player to be given a full scholarship to Mississippi State, where he attended from 1941-1942. In 1941, Boo's junior year at Mississippi State, the news of the United States entering into World War II brought draft papers to Boo. Luckily, Ferriss was stationed at Randolph Field in Texas where he was a physical trainer. In 1945, a bad asthema attack landed Boo in the hospital and gave him his discharge papers. That spring, Ferriss reported to the Sox AA Louisville training camp and thus began his brief, but shining career.

Boo Ferriss was what would now be called a "phenom". Ferriss began his rookie season with the Red Sox with the eye opening start of pitching 22 scoreless innings, beating all AL teams in his first 8 starts. Ferriss gave the Sox 21 wins in that first season.

1946 propelled Ferriss to stardom. With a 25-6 record, Ferriss made the record books by winning 13 straight games. That record still stands today. In the days when complete games were not as unusual as they are today, Boo pitched 26 complete games and 6 shutouts in the regular season. His incomparable performance in 1946 helped propel the Red Sox to the World Series where he pitched another shutout in Game 2 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The baseball world was Ferriss' oyster until a fateful night in Cleveland, July 14, 1947. The bases were full of Indians and George Metkovich was at the plate with a 3-2 count. Rearing back, Ferriss delivers the pitch, a strike. With that pitch, Boo felt something snap in his shoulder, pain shot through his shoulder and his arm went numb. Ferriss' didn't know what happened. What did happen was that what may have been a brilliant career was cut short by a torn cartilage in his shoulder. Ferriss' continued to pitch, but was never the same. He retired from professional baseball in 1950.

After leaving professional baseball as a player, Ferriss returned as a pitching coach with the Red Sox from 1955 to 1959. In 1959 he became Athletic Director and baseball coach for Delta State in Cleveland, Miss. where he remaind in those positions until retiring in 1988.

It's hard to find any print articles about Boo Ferriss without reading what a incredible all round player that he was and man that he is. Boo Ferriss is greatly admired by his baseball peers. In 2004, Bobby Doerr was quoted as saying "As great a pitcher as he was, and he was one of the best, he is an even better person. Among the people I’ve known, Boo would be the one you’d copy if you could and say I want to be like that man. I want my son to be like that man. He was that way before he got hurt and he has remained that way. You want to know about Boo Ferriss? He’s the best."

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Moment in the Sun

In the Spring of 2004, the 82 year old Boo was in the stands when his Delta State won the National Championship. Later that fall when his former team, the Boston Red Sox, won the World Series, Boo was quoted as saying, “Can you believe it? Delta State won the national championship and the Red Sox won the World Series in the same year. It’s almost too good to be true.”

Inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame on November 14, 2002.
Member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, Mississippi State University Sports Hall of Fame, and American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

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