Frank Henry Mountain (May 17, 1860 – November 19, 1939) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player from 1880 to 1886. He played seven seasons in

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), ...

, principally as a

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 ...

(143 games),

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

(36 games) and

first baseman 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 ...

(18 games). He played for six different major league clubs and saw his most extensive playing time with the Columbus Buckeyes of 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 ...

, appearing in 128 games for that club during the 1883 and 1884 seasons. Over the course of seven major league seasons, Mountain compiled a 58-83 (.411)

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

and a 3.47

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 ...

(ERA). He had his best season in 1884, pitching 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 ...

and compiling a 23-17 record with a 2.45 ERA.

Early years

Mountain was born in

Fort Edward, New York Fort Edward is a town and the county seat of Washington County, New York, United States. The population was 10,205 at the 2011 census. The municipal center complex is on U.S. Route 4 between the villages of Hudson Falls and Fort Edward.

, in 1860. His parents were immigrants from Ireland. His father, David Mountain, was a carpenter from

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, Ireland. His mother, Elizabeth, was from

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. Mountain attended

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, although he did not graduate. He played second base on the Union College baseball team in 1880.

Professional baseball career

1880 to 1882 seasons

Mountain began his professional baseball career in July 1880 with the

Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the NCAA's Division I-A in 2001, became a football only member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, and joined that conference for all other sports in 2005. Troy Univer ...

of 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 ...

. He appeared in only two games for the Trojans and compiled a 1-1 record and 5.29 ERA. In 1881, Mountain played for the

Detroit Wolverines The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant (and winning the pre ...

of the National League in the club's inaugural season. He appeared in seven games for the team, all

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 ...

s, and compiled a 3-4 record and a 5.25 ERA. He pitched and won both games of a double-header for Detroit in 1881. Mountain divided his playing time during the 1882 season between the

Worcester Worcesters The Worcester Worcesters were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team from 1880 to 1882 in the National League. The team is referred to, at times, as the Brown Stockings or the Ruby Legs; however, no contemporary sources from the time exist tha ...

of the National League (18 games) and the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

of the

(8 games). He compiled a 4-22 (.154) record and a 3.76 ERA with the two clubs in 1882.

Columbus

In 1883, Mountain joined the Columbus Buckeyes of the American Association. He appeared in 128 games, 101 as a pitcher and 29 as an outfielder, for the Buckeyes during the 1883 and 1884 seasons. Mountain appeared in a career high 59 games as pitcher in 1883. He started all 59 games and threw 57

s, four

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s and 503

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. He compiled a 26-33 record and led the American Association that season in losses (33), hits allowed (546), earned runs allowed (201), and bases on balls allowed (123). Mountain's best season was 1884 when he won 23 games, lost 17, pitched 40 complete games, and had a 2.45 ERA for Columbus. His ERA was fifth best in the American Association, and his five shutouts placed him fourth. On June 5 of that season he pitched a

against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

, winning 12–0.

Pittsburgh

After the 1884 season, Mountain, along with the entire Columbus team, was sold to the Pittsburgh Alleghenys. However, an injury prevented Mountain from appearing in more than five games in 1885, and he compiled a 1-4 record and 4.30 ERA. In August 1885, the Alleghenys "indefinitely laid off" Mountain until he could again pitch "in his old form." In November 1885, ''The Sporting Life'' noted that Mountain's "disability" was "a terrible disappointment to the club", rendering him unable to bat effectively despite having been a strong batter in 1884. Mountain's batting average dropped from .238 in 1883 to .100 in 1884. One account reported that Mountain's arm was damaged by a "drop ball" pitch which was thrown in a motion bringing the arm above the head and then releasing the ball with a "sharp downward snap of the wrist." Mountain returned to Pittsburgh in 1886. His arm was reported to have recovered, but he injured his ankle in June. He was limited to two games as pitcher and lost both games with a 7.88 ERA. He also appeared in 16 games as a first baseman in 1886 and compiled a .319

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

in 69 plate appearances. He appeared in his final major league game on August 17, 1886. The following week, a newspaper account reported that his career as pitcher was over, a tryout with Pittsburgh having "proved a jonah."

Toledo

Starting in May 1888, Mountain served as a minor league manager for the

Toledo Maumees The Toledo Maumees were a baseball team originally formed in 1888. The team was based in Toledo, Ohio, and formed part of the Tri-State League for one season. Their home games were played at Speranza Park in Toledo. In 1889, the Maumees moved to th ...

of the Tri-State League. As manager, he "blacklisted several players, who went on a strike, and there was a popular howl against him." He was released as manager in July 1888.

Career statistics

During his seven seasons in the major leagues, Mountain appeared in 194 games (143 as a pitcher). He started 142 games, threw 141

s and nine

s, and compiled a 58–83 win-loss record with a 3.47 ERA. As a batter, he compiled a .220 batting average with nine

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 and 84

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

Family and later years

Mountain was married to Sarah Mountain. They had five children: Martin (born 1888), Jennie (born 1890), Rose (born 1894), Raymond (born 1898) and Hugh (born c. 1905).1900 U.S. Census entry for Frank Mountain, born May 1860 in New York, both parents born in Ireland, employed as "engineer Edison." Census Place: Schenectady Ward 3, Schenectady, New York; Roll: 1160; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0130; FHL microfilm: 1241160. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census atabase on-line1920 U.S. Census entry for Frank Mountain, age 58, born in New York, both parents born in Ireland, employed as "assistant chief" of "factory fire department" Census Place: Schenectady Ward 1, Schenectady, New York; Roll: T625_1262; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 127; Image: 687. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census atabase on-line1930 U.S. Census entry for Frank Mountain, age 68, born in New York, both parents born in North Ireland, employed as fireman for "electrical co." Census Place: Schenectady, Schenectady, New York; Roll: 1646; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0072; Image: 565.0; FHL microfilm: 2341380. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census atabase on-line In approximately 1895, Mountain became a clerk for

General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering. The company was founded in 1886, was Britain's largest private employer with over 250 ...

. He worked for General Electric for nearly 40 years, serving for many years as the assistant chief of the factory fire department. He retired in 1931. Mountain died at his home in Schenectady in 1939 at age 79. He was buried at the Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery in Schenectady.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mountain, Frank 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from New York (state) Troy Trojans players Detroit Wolverines players Worcester Ruby Legs players Philadelphia Athletics (AA) players Columbus Buckeyes players Pittsburgh Alleghenys players Union Dutchmen baseball players 1860 births 1939 deaths