Yancey Wyatt "Doc" Ayers (May 21, 1891 – May 26, 1968) was an American

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

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), ...

(MLB). He was known for throwing the

spitball A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance such as saliva or petroleum jelly. This technique alters the wind resistance and weight on one side of the ball, causing it to mo ...

, and was one of the 17 pitchers allowed to continue throwing the pitch after it was outlawed in 1920. Ayers played nine seasons in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

with the Washington Senators (1913–19) and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1919–21). He batted and threw right-handed. Doc Ayers was born in

Carroll County, Virginia Carroll County is a United States county located in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Roughly one fifth of the county lies in the Virginia Piedmont region, while the rest is part of the Appalachian Mountains. The count ...

on May 20, 1890. He attended

Woodlawn High School (Woodlawn, Virginia) Woodlawn High School, later known as Woodlawn School, was a public secondary school located in Carroll County, Virginia, at Woodlawn, Virginia. The school served students in all grades, one through twelve, for much of its history. The last academ ...

where he tried out for the school's baseball team. He gained the nickname "Doc" after he enrolled in the

Medical College of Virginia The VCU Medical Center is Virginia Commonwealth University's medical campus located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, in the Court End neighborhood. VCU Medical Center used to be known as the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), which merged with the ...

, now the medical campus of

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

, in Richmond. While at MCV, he bought a book on pitching. He was a catcher at WHS but when the call came for college baseball tryouts he reported as a pitcher. Ayers was the opposing pitcher for the Senators on June 23, 1917, against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Ernie Shore Ernest Grady Shore (March 24, 1891 – September 24, 1980) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox during some of their best years in the 1910s. He was born near East Bend, North Carolina. Shore gradu ...

relieved starting pitcher

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

after the first batter walked and Ruth was ejected for arguing with the umpire. The runner was caught stealing, and Shore retired the next 26 batters for 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 ...

. Manager

Clark Griffith Clark Calvin Griffith (November 20, 1869 – October 27, 1955), nicknamed "The Old Fox", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, manager and team owner. He began his MLB playing career with the St. Louis Browns (1891), Boston Reds ...

removed Ayers for a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning. Ayers was a noted spitball pitcher who was allowed to throw the pitch after it had been banned in the major leagues after the 1919 season, having received special permission to do so. In 1920, he

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 denot ...

103 batters and led the American League in

strikeouts per nine innings In baseball statistics, strikeouts per nine innings pitched (K/9, SO/9, or SO/9IP) is the mean of strikeouts (or Ks) by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by multiplying the number of strikeouts by nine, and dividing by the numb ...

(4.44). In 299 career games, Ayers posted a 65–79 win–loss record with a 2.84

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 ...

and 109

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is th ...

. According to the 11 Jan 1953 issue of the local newspaper, The Southwest Times, Doc held the record for the most strikeouts in organized baseball in 1913, while pitching for Richmond in the Virginia League. He struck out 390 batters in 342 innings and 47 games. After getting married to Mary Elizabeth Dunlap in 1914, Ayers moved to a farm near

Draper, Virginia Draper is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pulaski County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 320. Draper has both a fire station and post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that prov ...

. They had two children, Yancy Wyatt Ayers, Jr and Nancy Frances Ayers. After he left baseball, Doc returned to his farm in the Draper Community of Pulaski County, and sold cars for the Wysor Motor Company to supplement his farming income. According to his WWII Draft Card, he was 6'1" tall, 272 pounds, with a ruddy complexion, gray eyes and grey hair, and wore glasses. Doc died of a heart attack in the Pulaski Community Hospital, and was buried in the Grantham Family Cemetery in Pulaski County. His wife died in Jefferson County, KY only seven months after his death, and is buried next to him.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayers, Doc 1891 births 1968 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Virginia Roanoke Maroons baseball players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Detroit Tigers players Toledo Mud Hens players People from Carroll County, Virginia People from Pulaski County, Virginia