James Ruffus Gentry (May 18, 1918 – July 3, 1997) was an American
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
player
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Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
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, a
Major League 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 ...
who played in all or parts of five seasons 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 ...
. A
right-hander
In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...
, Gentry stood tall and weighed .
Minor league career
Born in Daisy Station, near
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...
, Gentry first pitched in organized baseball as part of the company team when he worked for
Hanes Hosiery in Winston-Salem. From 1939 to 1941, he played minor league ball for Landis in the
North Carolina State League
The North Carolina State League was a "Class D" league in Minor League Baseball. The original version of the league existed from 1913–1917 as the successor to the Carolina Association. The second version of the league was established in 1937 i ...
,
Fulton, Kentucky
Fulton is a home rule-class city in Fulton County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,357 at the 2020 census, down from 2,445 at the 2010 census. It was once known as the "Banana Capital of the World", because 70% of imported banana ...
in the
Kitty League
Kitty or Kittie may refer to:
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* Cat, a small, domesticated carnivorous mammal
** Kitten, a young cat
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* Kitty Films, an anime production company in Japan
* ''Kitty'' (1929 film), based on the Deeping novel; the first British talk ...
(where he struck out 167 batters), and Winston-Salem in the
Piedmont League
The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States.
Teams
The following teams were members of the Piedmon ...
.
In 1942 and 1943, Gentry pitched for the
Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...
in the
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 ...
. Gentry had good speed on his fastball but lacked control. He struck out 80 batters in 1942, but walked 122. Gentry followed in 1943 with the best season of his career. He pitched an 11-inning no-hitter for the Bisons on Easter Sunday
and finished the season with 20 wins and a 2.65 earned run average. He led the league in innings pitched (285), strikeouts (184) and walks (143).
A promising start with the Tigers: 1943–1944
Gentry's performance in 1943 won him a promotion to the big leagues in September 1943. He went 1–3 for the Tigers in 4 starts, but lost two games by the score of 1–0.
So his 1–3 record could have just as easily been 3–1 with any run support from a Tigers batting order depleted by the war.
In 1944, Gentry won a spot in the Tigers' starting rotation, along with
Hal Newhouser
Harold Newhouser (May 20, 1921 – November 10, 1998), nicknamed "Prince Hal," was an American professional baseball player. In Major League Baseball (MLB), he pitched 17 seasons on the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians, from 1939 through 1 ...
and
Dizzy Trout
Paul Howard "Dizzy" Trout (June 29, 1915 – February 28, 1972) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from to , most notably as a member of the Detroit Tigers team that finishe ...
. Gentry ended the 1944 season a distant third in wins with 12, behind Newhouser's 29 wins and Trout's 27 wins. Gentry continued to have problems with his control as he led the American League in walks with 108 and was 3rd in the league in earned runs allowed.
Toward the end of the 1944 season, Gentry found his stride. He won several games in the pennant stretch, as the Tigers narrowly lost the pennant to the
St. Louis Browns
The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...
. On September 17, 1944, Gentry narrowly missed a no-hitter against the Indians. In the bottom of the 9th inning, with the Tigers ahead 3–0,
Lou Boudreau hit an infield single that deflected off Gentry.
Ken Keltner
Kenneth Frederick Keltner (October 31, 1916 – December 12, 1991) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1937 to 1950, most prominently as a member of the Cleveland Indians where h ...
followed with a two-out double, and Gentry would up with a 2-hit shutout.
Even in the best game of his career, however, Gentry had problems with his control. Gentry walked the bases loaded in the 4th inning before striking out the final batter. Detroit manager
Steve O'Neill
Stephen Francis O'Neill (July 6, 1891 – January 26, 1962) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, most notably with the Cleveland Indians. As a manager, he led the Detroit Tig ...
later said he had been one pitch away from pulling Gentry in the 4th inning. After the 4th inning, Gentry retired 14 consecutive batters.
Detroit News
''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...
sportswriter
H. G. Salsinger
Harry George Salsinger (April 10, 1885 – November 27, 1958) was an American sportswriter who served as sports editor of ''The Detroit News'' for 49 years.
Biography
Salsinger was born in Springfield, Ohio. In 1907, he started writing for ' ...
wrote that in the last 6 weeks of the season Gentry "looked to be a certain winner. It would have surprised no one who watched him throw in those last six weeks if he had turned in 20 victories."
Gentry holds out in 1945
After his performance in 1944, Gentry believed he was entitled to a $1,000 raise. Detroit's general manager
Jack Zeller
John Augustus "Jack" Zeller (September 11, 1883"United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939V-85H5-7?cc=1861144&wc=SPSZ-FMS%3A199086001 : 8 April 201 ...
refused, and Gentry opted to hold out. The hold out lasted the entire 1945 season. Gentry reportedly offered to sign in August, but Zeller felt Gentry was out of shape and told him to stay home.
According to a
Detroit News
''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...
article dated August 8, 1945, Gentry had "demanded the same salary the club was paying Harold Newhouser, who won 29 and lost 9 games last year. The club did not think Ruffus worth as much as Harold, but Ruffus insisted in his demands and said that if the club did not meet them he would stay home. He stayed home. He's tired of staying home but the club thinks he got tired too late to do the team any good."
The holdout ended up being costly to both Gentry and Zeller. Gentry missed the opportunity to pitch for a team that won 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 ...
pennant and the
1945 World Series 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 ...
.
The holdout also cost Zeller. Having refused to give Gentry a $1,000 raise, he found himself short of pitching during the 1945 pennant drive. He ended up purchasing three pitchers late in the season for a total of $40,000. Zeller later stated that refusing the extra $1,000 to Gentry was his "biggest mistake as general manager."
A gunshot wound to the pitching hand derails a comeback
In 1946, Gentry signed with the Tigers but pitched in only 3 innings, giving up 7 walks and accumulating a 15.00
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 ...
. Sent back to the minors, any hopes of a comeback were derailed when Gentry accidentally discharged his gun while cleaning it. The resulting shot mangled the index finger on Gentry's pitching hand.
Despite the injury, Gentry tried to come back with a noticeably crooked index finger in 1947 and again in 1948. He pitched only 1/3 of an inning in 1947 and 6 innings in 1948 for the Tigers.
Gentry never won a major league ball game after his 1945 holdout.
Life after baseball
After retiring from baseball, Gentry returned to North Carolina and worked as a brick mason and stonemason. His younger brother,
Harvey Gentry
Harvey William Gentry (May 27, 1926 – July 1, 2018) was an American professional baseball outfielder who played for ten years in the minor leagues, from 1947 through 1956, and appeared briefly in the Major Leagues for the New York Giants. , also made it to the Major Leagues for a brief stint with 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. ...
in 1954. Gentry died in 1997 in Winston-Salem, aged 79.
References
External links
Baseball-Reference.com*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gentry, Rufe
1918 births
1997 deaths
Baseball players from Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Dallas Eagles players
Dallas Rebels players
Detroit Tigers players
Fulton Tigers players
Landis Senators players
Little Rock Travelers players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Toledo Mud Hens players
Winston-Salem Twins players
American shooting survivors