William H. "Adonis" Terry (August 7, 1864 – February 24, 1915) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player whose career spanned from his debut with the

Brooklyn Atlantics The Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn ("Atlantic" or the "Brooklyn Atlantics") was baseball's first champion and its first dynasty. The team was also the first baseball club to visit the White House in 1865 at the invitation of President And ...

in , to the

Chicago Colts The following is a North American professional sports league organization, franchise history of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball, a charter member of the National League who started play in the National Association of Base Ball Players, ...

in . In his 14 seasons, he compiled a 197-196 win–loss record, winning 20 or more games in a season four different times.

Career

Brooklyn

Born in

Westfield, Massachusetts Westfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. Westfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metrop ...

, Terry began his professional career with the minor league Brooklyn Grays in , who won the Interstate Championship that season. The following season, the team was admitted into the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

as the

, and he stayed with the team. In that season, the team finished in ninth place, and his win–loss record reflected that. Although his record was 19-35, he led the team with an

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 3.55, and

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

230 hitters. Over the next three seasons, Terry had average-to-good seasons, had a combined record of 40 wins and 49 losses, even throwing a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

against the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

on July 24, 1886. But it was not until that he turned into a star pitcher. In that season, he had a 13-8 record, a 2.03 ERA, and tossed his second no-hitter, this time against the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as ...

on May 27, 1888. In , the team won the American Association championship with Terry winning 22 games. He pitched five games, winning two, in the "World Series" after the season with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

, a series that Brooklyn lost six games to three. The Bridegrooms joined the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

in , and again finished first behind Terry's 26-16 record and the team tied the Louisville team of the American Association in the World Series with three wins and three losses each and one tie. The season turned out to be a disappointment for both Brooklyn and Terry, as the team finished in sixth place and Terry record fell to 6-16 and a 4.22 ERA.

Pittsburgh

On June 10, 1892, Brooklyn released Terry, and was quickly signed by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

on June 14. He played just one game for Baltimore, a complete games loss, and was then traded to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

on June 17 in exchange for

Cub Stricker John A. "Cub" Stricker, born John A. Streaker (June 8, 1859 – November 19, 1937) was an American professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven different teams during his 11-season career, mostly with t ...

. He pitched well in his 2-plus seasons for Pittsburgh, winning 18 games in and 12 more in .

Chicago

In , he changed teams for the last time. After pitching in one game for the Pirates, he was then picked up by the

and had moderate success in his four seasons with them. He went on to win 21 games in and 15 more in . On July 13, 1896, he had the unfortunate distinction of giving up all four

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s to Philadelphia Phillie hall-of-Famer

Ed Delahanty Edward James Delahanty (October 30, 1867 – July 2, 1903), nicknamed "Big Ed", was an American professional baseball player, who spent his Major League Baseball (MLB) playing career with the Philadelphia Quakers, Cleveland Infants, Philadelph ...

in a game played at the old

West Side Grounds West Side Park was the name used for two different ballparks that formerly stood in Chicago, Illinois. They were both home fields of the team now known as the Chicago Cubs of the National League. Both ballparks hosted baseball championships. The ...

. Pitching the

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

, he and his Colts were able to prevail, winning the game 9-8. He played only one game the following season in , a complete-game loss, before his career came to end. His career totals include a 197 wins and 196 losses, a 3.74 ERA, and 1,553 strikeouts in 3,514.1 innings pitched. He was also a versatile player, often playing other positions, including 216 games in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball and ...

, with games also played at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball 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. In the scoring system us ...

Post-career

Umpiring

After his Major League career was over, he became an

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

for 39 games in the

season. He had filled the umpire position from time to time during his playing days. In total, he umpired 51 games, 48 of them as the home plate umpire, as the custom was that there was only one umpire used in each game.

Death

Adonis is the honoree of old-time baseball events that are held in his hometown of Westfield, such as the group Westfield Wheelmen Vintage Base Ball Club. Terry died in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

at the age of 50 from an episode of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

, and was

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terry, Adonis Baseball players from Massachusetts Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball outfielders Brooklyn Grays (Interstate Association) players Brooklyn Atlantics (AA) players Brooklyn Grays players Brooklyn Bridegrooms players Brooklyn Grooms players Baltimore Orioles (NL) players Pittsburgh Pirates players Chicago Colts players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Milwaukee Creams players 19th-century baseball players 1864 births 1915 deaths