Samuel Howard Camnitz (August 22, 1881 – March 2, 1960) was a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

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

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 ...

and the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

(1913) in 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 ...

and for the

Pittsburgh Rebels The Pittsburgh Rebels were a baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1913 to 1915. The team was a member of the short-lived Federal League. The team was originally called the Pittsburgh Stogies after an earlier Pittsburgh team that ...

(1914–15) in the

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

. A native of

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, ...

, he batted and threw right-handed. In an 11-season career, Camnitz posted a 133–106 record with 915

strikeout 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 deno ...

s and a 2.75

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 ...

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 ...

. Camnitz was born in

, the son of Henry and Elizabeth Camnitz. His father was a printer and his brother

Harry Camnitz Henry Richardson Camnitz (October 26, 1884 – January 6, 1951) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played briefly for the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals. He also compiled a 99–88 career record in eight seasons in the Minor Le ...

was also a baseball pitcher. Howie Camnitz received the nickname "Rosebud" due to his bright red hair. He was often referred to as "the Kentucky Rosebud" in his playing career. Camnitz pitched briefly with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1904 before being sent to the minor leagues to disguise his best pitch, a curveball. He was called up to the Pirates in September 1906. In his first full season in 1907, he had a 13–8 record with a 2.15 earned run average in 180 innings, including a five-inning

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

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. ...

on August 23. The next year, he went 16–9 with a 1.56 earned run average and 15

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 in 19 starts. With an excellent

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

, Camnitz collected three 20-win seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1909 to 1912, leading his team to the 1909 World Series after winning 25 games in the regular season and tying

Christy Mathewson Christopher Mathewson (August 12, 1880 – October 7, 1925), nicknamed "Big Six", "the Christian Gentleman", "Matty", and "the Gentleman's Hurler", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher, who played 17 seasons with the New York Giant ...

for the National League lead in

winning percentage 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 ...

at .806. Camnitz pitched at least 240 innings every year from 1908 to 1914, with a career-high 283 innings in 1909, winning 20 games in 1911 and 22 in 1912. After a 6–17 start in 1913, he was sent by the Pirates to the Philadelphia Phillies in midseason. He pitched in nine games for the Phillies and had a 3–3 record, then jumped to the

of the

in 1914 and posted a 14–19 mark. He retired in 1915 after being accused of violating team rules. Camnitz moved to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

and became an automobile salesman, working for 40 years. He died on March 2, 1960 in Louisville at the age of 78 and is buried at Cave Hill Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Camnitz, Howie 1881 births 1960 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Kentucky Centre Colonels baseball players Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players Pittsburgh Rebels players Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery Sportspeople from Covington, Kentucky Greenville Cotton Pickers players Vicksburg Hill Billies players Springfield Hustlers players Toledo Mud Hens players