Russell William Ford (April 25, 1883 – January 24, 1960) was a Canadian-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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

. He played 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), ...

for the New York Highlanders / Yankees 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 ...

from 1909 to 1913 and for the Buffalo Buffeds / Blues of 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 ...

in 1914 and 1915. Ford is credited with developing the

emery ball An emery ball is an illegal pitch in baseball, in which the ball has been altered by scuffing it with a rough surface, such as an emery board or sandpaper. This technique alters the spin of the ball, causing it to move in an atypical manner, a ...

. Born in

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, Ford grew up in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, where he began his baseball career. After he noticed how the ball moved after it was scuffed, he mastered how to doctor the baseball with a piece of

emery paper Emery paper is a type of abrasive paper or sandpaper, that can be used to abrade (remove material from) surfaces or mechanically finish a surface. Operations include deburring, polishing, paint removal, corrosion removal, sizing, etc. This i ...

hidden in his

baseball glove A baseball glove or mitt is a large glove (traditionally made of leather, today other options do exist) worn by baseball players of the defending team, which assists players in catching and fielding balls hit by a batter or thrown by a teammate ...

. Using the pitch, Ford won 26 games in his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

year with the Highlanders in 1910. After the pitch was outlawed in 1914, Ford's results declined, and his career ended in 1917. He is a member of the

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (french: Temple de la renommée du baseball canadien) is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museum commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada. H ...

and the

Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a Canadian museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, dedicated to honoring the history and achievements of sports in Manitoba. The organization began in 1980, and then opened a museum in The Forks in 1993. Afte ...

Early life

Ford was born in Brandon, Manitoba, on April 25, 1883. He was the third of five children born to Walter and Ida Ford. His mother was a second cousin of

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

, who served as

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

. The Ford family moved to the United States when he was three years old, and settled in

when he was 10 years old. He played

sandlot ball Sandlot ball or sandlot baseball is a competitive and athletic sports game that follows the basic rules and procedures of baseball. It is often less organized and structured, as the name alludes to a makeshift field or an empty lot. History and ...

in Minneapolis. Russ' older brother, Gene Ford, also played in the major leagues. Gene pitched in seven games for the Detroit Tigers in 1905. His younger brother, Walter, played in the minor leagues.

Baseball career

Early career

Ford made his

debut in the Northern League with a team based in Enderlin, North Dakota, in 1904, but the team folded during the season. He continued playing in the 1904 season with a team in

Lisbon, North Dakota Lisbon is a city in and the county seat of Ransom County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 2,204 at the 2020 census. History Lisbon was founded in 1880 by Joseph L. Colton, who named the new city after Lisbon, New York, his wif ...

. After a recommendation by his older brother, Ford was signed by Bill Watkins, the

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 ...

of the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

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 ...

, in July 1904. In April 1905, Watkins sold him to the Springfield Senators of the

Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League The Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League was a Minor League Baseball organization that operated for the better part of 60 seasons, with teams based in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The league began pla ...

. In 1906, he pitched for the Cedar Rapids Rabbits of the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League. At the end of the 1906 season, the

Atlanta Crackers The Atlanta Crackers were Minor League Baseball teams based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1966. History Atlanta played its first ...

of the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cla ...

drafted Ford from Cedar Rapids. Russ Ford baseball card

In 1907, Ford discovered the

, a pitch that was thrown with a ball that had been scuffed with a piece of emery. Ford came across the pitch by accident. When warming up with

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

Ed Sweeney under a grandstand due to rain, Ford accidentally threw a ball into a wooden upright, marking the surface. Ford threw another pitch with the damaged ball, and noticed how it curved more than previous pitches. He continued to study the effects of the rough patch on the wind resistance of the baseball when practicing, but did not yet begin to use it in a game. Ford returned to Atlanta for the 1908 season, and his pitching began to draw attention from major league teams. The

New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

of the

purchased Ford from the Crackers.

Major leagues

Ford made his major league debut for the Highlanders 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 eigh ...

on April 28, 1909, as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

. He pitched three innings, allowing four runs on four hits, four walks, and three hit by pitches. After the game, the Highlanders demoted Ford to the

Jersey City Skeeters The Jersey City Skeeters were a minor league baseball team which operated in Jersey City, New Jersey. The club started in the 1860s and by 1870 joined the National Association of Base Ball Players. By 1885, Jersey City had joined the Eastern Lea ...

of the Eastern League, where he spent the rest of the 1909 season. With Jersey City, he began to use the emery ball during games by hiding a piece of

in his

. He pretended to be throwing a

spitball A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance such as saliva or petroleum jelly. This technique alters the wind resistance and weight on one side of the ball, causing it to m ...

, which was still legal at the time. Ford pitched for the Highlanders in 1910, and tried to disguise his emery ball as a "slide ball", a type of spitball that could move side-to-side, in addition to up and down. Ford won 26 games against six losses for the Highlanders, and threw complete games in all 26 wins. He also had a 1.65

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), which was the seventh-best in the American League, and 209 strikeouts, which was the fourth-most. Ford also shared the secret of his emery ball with teammates

Eddie Foster Edward Cunningham Foster (February 13, 1887 – January 15, 1937) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1910 to 1923 for the New York Highlanders, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, ...

and Earle Gardner, who he roomed with when the Highlanders were traveling. For the 1911 season, the Highlanders paid Ford a $5,500 salary ($ in current dollar terms), second-highest on the team behind only Hal Chase, the

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 ...

and

. In 1911, Ford won 22 games and lost 11. He also had a 2.27 ERA, which was the seventh-best in the American League, and 158 strikeouts, which was the fifth-most. In 1912, he only won 13 games while losing 21, and his strikeout total decreased to 112. His 21 losses, 115

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 erro ...

s, and 11

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 allowed were the most in the American League. Ford had 13 wins, 18 losses, and a 2.66 ERA in the 1913 season, with only 72 strikeouts. During the 1913 season, Ford announced that he was giving up the spitball because of the strain that it put on his shoulder and wrist. Russ Ford

New York attempted to cut Ford's salary before the 1914 season, so he jumped to the Buffalo Buffeds of the outlaw

. He had a 21–6 win–loss record for Buffalo in 1914 with 123 strikeouts; his .778

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 ...

was the best in the Federal League that year, and his 1.82 ERA was the second-best, behind

Claude Hendrix Claude Raymond Hendrix (April 13, 1889 – March 22, 1944) was a professional baseball pitcher who played in the National League for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1911–13) and Chicago Cubs (1916–20) and in the Federal League with the Chicago Whales ...

. He was reported to be using a

knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This cha ...

during the 1914 season.

Later career

In September 1914,

Ray Keating Raymond Herbert Keating (July 21, 1893 – December 28, 1963) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Highlanders / Yankees of the American League from 1912 to 1916 and in 1918 and for ...

, who had learned the emery ball from Sweeney, was caught using it. The major leagues decided to ban the pitch, with

Ban Johnson Byron Bancroft Johnson (January 5, 1864 – March 28, 1931) was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League (AL). Johnson developed the AL—a descendant of the mino ...

, president of the American League, calling for a $100 fine ($ in current dollar terms) and a 30-day suspension for anyone caught attempting it. The other major leagues followed suit. Unable to use the emery ball, Ford struggled as he attempted to develop a new pitch, and was released from Buffalo during July. He was re-signed later in the month. Ford won five games and lost nine, with a 4.52 ERA, for the 1915 season. Following the collapse of the Federal League, his contractual rights reverted to the Yankees, who gave him his unconditional release. Returning to the minor leagues, Ford pitched for the

Denver Bears Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

of the Western League in 1916 and 1917. In July 1917, Denver sold Ford to the Toledo Iron Men of the American Association. In 1918, he was playing in a semi-professional league. In 1922, Ford and Bee Lawler served as the

coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

for the

Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball : ''For information on all University of Minnesota sports, see Minnesota Golden Gophers'' The Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United S ...

team, the

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

team representing the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

Personal life and honors

Ford married Mary Hunter Bethell in 1912. They had two daughters. After his retirement from baseball, Ford graduated from college. His family moved to

Rockingham, North Carolina Rockingham is a city in Richmond County, North Carolina, United States, named after the Marquess of Rockingham. The population was 9,558 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Richmond County. The city is the home of Rockingham Speedway, f ...

, near Mary's hometown, of Reidsville, in 1923. He went into banking and worked as a cashier in a local bank. In the 1930s, he worked for an engineering firm in New York City as a

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for ...

. Mary died in 1957. When she did, Ford moved back to Rockingham, and lived a quiet life in retirement. Ford died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

on January 24, 1960, in Rockingham. Ford was posthumously elected to the

in 1987, into the

in 2002, and into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Russ 1883 births 1960 deaths Atlanta Crackers players Baseball people from Manitoba Baseball players from Minnesota Buffalo Blues players Buffalo Buffeds players Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Cedar Rapids Rabbits players Denver Bears players Jersey City Skeeters players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Canada New York Highlanders players New York Yankees players Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball coaches Sportspeople from Brandon, Manitoba Toledo Iron Men players Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees

Early life

Baseball career

Early career

Major leagues

Later career

Personal life and honors

See also

References

External links