John Franklin Eubank (September 9, 1872 – November 3, 1958), nicknamed "Honest John," was a right-handed pitcher 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), ...

who played for the

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 ...

from 1905 to 1907.

Early years

Eubank was born in

Servia, Indiana Servia is an unincorporated community in Chester Township, Wabash County, in the U.S. state of Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 Sta ...

, in 1872.

Baseball player

Detroit Tigers

Eubank was purchased by the

from

Fort Dodge Fort Dodge is a city in, and the county seat of, Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in 2000. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Cen ...

Gypsum Eaters of the

Iowa State League The Iowa State League was a minor league baseball league that played from 1904 to 1907 and in 1912. The Class D level league had franchises based in Illinois and Iowa. The Ottumwa Snappers won league championships in 1904 and 1905. The Iowa Stat ...

in early August 1905. Eubank made his major league debut with the Tigers as a 33-year-old rookie on September 19, 1905. On September 22, 1905, he allowed only one hit and no runs in six innings as a relief pitcher against Washington. Eubank compiled a record of 1–0 with a 2.08 ERA in 1905. He pitched in a career-high 24 games and 135 innings in 1906, compiling a 4–10 record with a 3.53 ERA. At the end of September, he pitched a complete game shutout against New York. In 1907, Eubank went 3–3 with a 2.67 ERA on a Detroit team that won the American League pennant. He lost his first start of the 1907 by a 1-0 score. In late June, Eubank pitched a shutout against the Cleveland Naps to stop a four-game losing streak. He pitched his last major league game on August 2, 1907. Eubank was sent to Indianapolis late in the 1907 season where he had three wins in three starts. He returned to the Tigers for the

1907 World Series The 1907 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1907 season. The fourth edition of the World Series, it featured the defending National League champion Chicago Cubs and the American League champion Detroit Tig ...

against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. Although he did not pitch in the World Series, Eubank protested when he was denied a share of the club's bonus funds. The team voted to exclude him in spite of his protest.

Minor leagues

Eubank continued to play in the minor leagues for several years, concluding his career with the Grays from

Goshen, Indiana Goshen ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka ...

Later years

At the time of the 1910 U.S. Census, Eubank was living in

Bellevue, Michigan Bellevue is a village in Eaton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,282 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Bellevue Township. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a tot ...

, with his wife, Bessie, and their children, Jennie (age 18), David (age 13), and Dewey (age 11). At the time of the 1920 and 1930 U.S. Censuses, Eubank remained in Bellevue with his wife Bessie. At the time of the 1940 U.S. Census, Eubank was living in Bellevue with his son, Ralph.Census entry for John F. Eubank, age 67, born in Indiana. Source Citation: Year: 1940; Census Place: Bellevue, Eaton, Michigan; Roll: T627_1747; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 23-1. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census atabase on-line In November 1958, after a long illness, Eubank died at his home in Bellevue, Michigan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eubank, John Detroit Tigers players Baseball players from Indiana Major League Baseball pitchers 1872 births 1958 deaths Fort Dodge Gypsum Eaters players Fort Dodge Gypsumites players