Raymond Willis "Rip" Jordan (September 28, 1889 – June 5, 1960), nicknamed "Lanky", was 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 ...
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), ...
. He played for 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 Washington Senators. Jordan was 6 feet tall and weighed 172 pounds."Rip Jordan Statistics and History" baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
Career
Jordan was born in
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...
, in 1889. He started his professional baseball career in 1912 as a member of 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 ...
's Chicago White Sox. That year, he made four relief appearances, pitching a total of 12.1 innings and allowing seven
earned run
In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...
s.
Jordan went down to the minors in 1913 and played for the Western League's Lincoln club for two seasons. He pitched over 200 innings during both campaigns. After winning 10 games in 1914, he went to the
New England League
The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...
's Portland Duffs for a season and went 11–6. Jordan then joined the
New York State League
The New York State League was an independent baseball league that played six seasons between 2007 and 2012 in New York State and the New York City metro area. Over 500 NYSL players have been signed by professional teams. Players from forty-eight ...
's Elmira Colonels. He went a combined 19–28 over two seasons there."Rip Jordan Minor League Statistics & History" baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
In 1919, Jordan started off with the Buffalo Bisons of the class AA
International League
The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...
. He had arguably his best season for them, going 15–10 with a 1.43
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 setting a career-high in victories. That fall, Jordan made it to the major leagues for the second time, when he started a game for the Washington Senators on September 27. Pitching 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 ...
, he lasted four innings and gave up five earned runs to take a no-decision. Boston outfielder
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 ...
set a Major League Baseball record that year by hitting 29
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 the last one came off of Jordan.Stewart, Wayne (2006). Babe Ruth '. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 42–43.
Jordan never pitched in the majors after 1919. In 1920, he moved west to join 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 ...
's San Francisco Seals and went 5–13 with a 5.08 ERA. He finished his playing career the following season in the
Texas League
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
.
Jordan was a baseball
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
in 1946, when he ran the New England League's Portland Gulls. He died in