John Walter "Duster" Mails (October 1, 1894 – July 5, 1974) 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), ...

for the Brooklyn Robins (1915–16),

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

(1920–22) and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1925–26). Mails pitched for three pennant winning teams—the 1916 Robins, the 1920 Indians and the 1926 Cardinals. He appeared in only 11 games for the 1916 Robins, with a record of 0–1, and did not appear in the 1916 World Series, which the Robins lost. He helped the Indians win the 1920 World Series after being acquired in a minor league trade in August 1920, appearing in 9 games while posting a record of 7-0 and an ERA of 1.85 as the Indians battled the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

in a tight pennant race. He pitched 6.2 innings of relief in Game 3 of the World Series, allowing no runs. He pitched a 1-0 complete game shutout of Brooklyn in Game 6 and posted a 0.00 ERA for his two Series appearances. He appeared in only one game for the 1926 Cardinals, posting a record of 0–1, and did not pitch in the 1926 World Series, which the Cardinals won. In seven Major League seasons, Mails had a 32–25 win–loss record, 104 games, 59 games started, 29 complete games, 5 shutouts, 26 games finished, 2 saves, 516 innings pitched, 554 hits allowed, 281 runs allowed, 235 earned runs allowed, 27 home runs allowed, 220 walks allowed, 232 strikeouts, 13 hit batsmen, 7 wild pitches, 2288 batters faced, and a 4.10 ERA. Mails won over 200 games in the minor leagues, primarily in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

during the 1920s, posting a record of 226–210. Born in

San Quentin, California San Quentin (Spanish: ''San Quintín'', meaning " St. Quentin") is a small unincorporated community in Marin County, California, United States. It is located west of Point San Quentin, at an elevation of . Description San Quentin is adjace ...

, Mails graduated from

Christian Brothers High School (Sacramento, California) Christian Brothers High School is a private, Catholic, college-preparatory high school in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento, California. It is located within the Diocese of Sacramento and was founded by the De La Salle Christian Brothers in ...

and attended

Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic Church, Catholic college in Moraga, California. Established in 1863, it is affiliated with the Catholic Church and administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college of ...

. He died in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, at the age of 79.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mails, Duster 1894 births 1974 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Brooklyn Robins players Cleveland Indians players St. Louis Cardinals players Minor league baseball managers Seattle Giants players Portland Beavers players Sacramento Senators players Seattle Rainiers players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Chattanooga Lookouts players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Saint Mary's Gaels baseball players Baseball players from California People from Marin County, California