Howard Ehmke

From SoSH

Howard "Bob" Jonathan Ehmke pitched 3 1/2 seasons for the Boston Red Sox from 1923-1926 before being traded to the Philadelphia Athletics on June 15, 1926. During that time, Ehmke had a 3.83 ERA and a record of 51-64. Ehmke would be best remembered in Boston for his September 7, 1923 no-hitter against the Philadelphia Athletics and for his very next start, in which he one-hit the New York Yankees, if anyone who saw those games were still alive.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Ehmke's Moments in the Sun 3 Trivia 4 Transactions 5 External Links

Overall Career

Howard Ehmke's baseball career began on April 12, 1915 when he pitched in his first game for the Buffalo Blues of the now-defunct Federal League. After having an unremarkable season pitching 53 2/3 innings in relief (with a 5.53 ERA), Ehmke's contract was purchased from the Blues by the Detroit Tigers before the 1916 season. He would pitch 6 seasons for Detroit, mostly as a starter, amassing 1236 1/3 innings (including 89 complete games) and posting an even 75-75 record with a 3.61 ERA. Unbelievably, his arm was still attached in October of 1922, and he was traded to the Boston Red Sox in a 6-player deal.

Ehmke would pitch his next 3 1/2 seasons for Boston, amassing 989 2/3 more innings (in 136 games, 120 of them starts). During this four-year span, he compiled a 51-64 record with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. (He also batted .197/.222/.223.) His two-start span (September 7-11, 1923) in which he no-hit the Athletics and one-hit the Yankees was by far the highlight of his Boston career.)

Upon being traded to the Philadelphia Athletics on June 15, 1926 in a 5-player deal, Ehmke took his act to Philly, pitching his final 4 1/2 seasons in an Athletics uniform (with a 3.73 ERA in 541 innings). Ehmke clearly started to wear down by the end of his Philadelphia tenure, pitching only 54 2/3 innings in 1929 and 10 innings in 1930, but the highlight of his Athletics career came in the 1929 postseason. Connie Mack secretly and surprisingly named the 35-year-old Ehmke as his Game 1 starter in the World Series. Ehmke responded by striking out 13 Cubs batters (a Series record until 1973) in a 3-1 win, and the Athletics won the series 4-1. Following a 1930 season in which Ehmke appeared in only 3 games, he retired from baseball.

Howard Ehmke died on March 18, 1959 in Germantown Hospital at the age of 64.

Ehmke's Moments in the Sun

• On September 7, 1923, Ehmke pitched a complete game no-hitter against the Philadelphia Athletics, winning 4-0. In his following start (on September 11), Ehmke gave up only one hit, a controversial infield single by the first batter of the game, in a complete game shutout against the New York Yankees.
• Howard Ehmke was named by Connie Mack to start the first game of the 1929 World Series. At the time, Ehmke had appeared in only 11 games that season, and had not even made the last road trip of the season. It was thought that Mack no longer counted on him, but in fact Ehmke had been scouting the Cubs and resting his arm. Reportedly, Ehmke told his manager, "Mr. Mack, I've got one good game in me, and I'd like to give it to you in October." In response, Connie Mack decided, "You're pitching the first game, but don't tell anybody, I don't want it known." Ehmke won the opening game 3-1, striking out 13 batters (a record that stood until 1973).

Trivia

• Ehmke is credited with inventing the "hesitation" pitch, a side-arm delivery with a delayed release.
• After retiring, Ehmke operated a canvas fabricating business in partnership with his wife, Marguerite.

Transactions

• February 10, 1916: Sold by Buffalo Blues to Detroit Tigers with Jack Dalton
• October 30, 1922: Traded by Detroit Tigers with Carl Holling, Danny Clark, Babe Herman and $25000 to Boston Red Sox in exchange for Del Pratt and Rip Collins
• June 15, 1926: Traded by Boston Red Sox with Tom Jenkins to Philadelphia Athletics in exchange for Fred Heimach, Slim Harriss and Baby Doll Jacobson

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis