Charles J. Ferguson (April 17, 1863 – April 29, 1888) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire four-year career for the Philadelphia Quakers (who were later renamed the Phillies). When not pitching, he increasingly played in the outfield and – in his final season – at second base.

Career

Born in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

, he played baseball for the University of Virginia in 1882, although he was never a student there. He also played for the Virginia representative in the Eastern League, with his team winning the championship. Ferguson made his major league debut with the Quakers in . Philadelphia finished 6th in the National League that season, and Ferguson had a win/loss record of 21-25. That was the only season in which he produced a losing record, and he had his highest earned run average with 3.54. The next season, his record improved to 26-20, and his ERA dropped to 2.22, while Philadelphia improved in the standings, finishing third in . On August 29, he pitched 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 Providence Grays, a 1-0 victory. He continued his dominance in the season, winning 30 games and again lowering his ERA, this time to 1.98, good for second in the NL behind Henry Boyle of the

St. Louis Maroons The St. Louis Maroons were a professional baseball club based in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1884–1886. The club, established by Henry Lucas, were the one near-major league quality entry in the Union Association, a league that lasted only one ...

. In , he won 22 games and had a 3.00 ERA. That same season, he played 27 games at second base, and had 264

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s. Along with his 22 victories, he led the team in runs batted in with 85, and his .337 batting average would have led his team as well had his total plate appearances been enough to qualify for the batting title.

Death

Before the baseball season, he contracted typhoid fever and subsequently died in Philadelphia. He is interred in Maplewood Cemetery in his hometown of Charlottesville. For the 1888 season, the Quakers, Washington Nationals,

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. ...

and

Boston Beaneaters Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most po ...

wore a black crepe on their left sleeves to commemorate Ferguson. In 1931, Wilbert Robinson rated Ferguson as the fifth-best player to that point in baseball history.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Charlie 1863 births 1888 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers 19th-century baseball players Philadelphia Quakers players Baseball players from Virginia Sportspeople from Charlottesville, Virginia Deaths from typhoid fever People born in the Confederate States

Career

Death

See also

References

External links