Raymond Frank Tift (June 21, 1884 – March 29, 1945) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

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), ...

with 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 of ...

in .

Biography

A native of

Fitchburg, Massachusetts Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private e ...

, Tift graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 1907. While at Brown, he was a star baseball player who reportedly "showed great nerve in tight places and fielded his position with the greatest accuracy." Tift signed with the New York Highlanders after graduation, and appeared in four games during New York's 1907 season. With the Highlanders, Tift played with

Baseball Hall of Famers The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

Jack Chesbro,

Willie Keeler William Henry Keeler (March 3, 1872 – January 1, 1923), nicknamed "Wee Willie" because of his small stature, was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1892 to 1910, primarily for the Baltimore Orioles and Brooklyn ...

, and

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

. Tift's major league debut came on August 7, when he pitched six innings in relief of

Slow Joe Doyle Judd Bruce Doyle (September 15, 1881 – November 21, 1947) was a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher from to for the New York Highlanders and Cincinnati Reds. Doyle got his nickname "Slow Joe" early in his baseball career because he was ...

, allowing five hits and one run in New York's 8-4 loss 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 ...

Hilltop Park Hilltop Park was the nickname of a baseball park that stood in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. It was the home of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball from 1903 to 1912, when they were known as the "Highlanders". ...

. Three days later, Tift was the starter for New York in the second game of a doubleheader with the Browns, going seven innings and allowing three runs. In Tift's third appearance he again relieved Doyle, and reached base himself after being hit by a

Bill Donovan William Edward Donovan (October 13, 1876 – December 9, 1923), nicknamed "Wild Bill" and "Smiling Bill", was an American right-handed baseball pitcher and manager. Donovan played Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators (1898), Broo ...

pitch, but the Highlanders suffered a 13-6 shellacking at the hands of 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 ...

and Hall of Famers

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the las ...

and

Sam Crawford Samuel Earl Crawford (April 18, 1880 – June 15, 1968), nicknamed "Wahoo Sam", was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Crawford batted and threw left-handed, stood tall and weighed . Born in Wahoo, Nebraska, he had a sh ...

at Bennett Park. Tift's final major league appearance came at Hilltop Park on September 2, when he went five innings in relief of

Al Orth Albert Lewis Orth (September 5, 1872 – October 8, 1948) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He later served as a major league umpire and college baseball coach. Early life Orth was born in Sedalia, Missouri and atten ...

as New York was stomped, 12-1, by the

Boston Americans 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 ...

and their ace hurler, Hall of Famer

Cy Young Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family's farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career. Young entered th ...

. Over four major league appearances, Tift had a 0–0 record, and posted a 4.74 ERA with six strikeouts and four walks in 19 innings. In 1914, Tift pitched for the

Falmouth, Massachusetts Falmouth ( ) is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable. The terminal for the Steamship Authority ferri ...

"Cottage Club" town team in what is now the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. Earlier in the season, he had defeated the Cottage Club as a member of the

West Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area o ...

town team. Tift continued to pitch for the Somerville town team for several seasons, and in 1919 was briefly a teammate of Hall of Famer

Pie Traynor Harold Joseph "Pie" Traynor (November 11, 1898 – March 16, 1972) was an American third baseman, manager, scout and radio broadcaster in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career between 1920 and 1937 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. ...

at Somerville. Tift died in

Verona, New Jersey Verona is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 14,572, an increase of 1,240 (+9.3%) from the 2010 census count of 13,332, which in turn reflected a decl ...

in 1945 at the age of 60.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tift, Ray 1884 births 1945 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Massachusetts New York Highlanders players Auburn (minor league baseball) players Montreal Royals players Falmouth Commodores players Cape Cod Baseball League players (pre-modern era) Brown University alumni