Thomas H. "Toad" Ramsey (August 8, 1864 – March 27, 1906) was an American
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), ...
player who
pitched in the majors from to . Ramsey spent his entire career in 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 ...
, split between two different teams. He played for the
Louisville Colonels
The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...
and
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 ...
. He is sometimes credited with inventing a
pitch, the
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 ...
.
He was one of the top pitchers in the Association for more than two years, with statistics that put him in the top five in multiple pitching categories.
Career
Louisville
Born in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
, and a former
bricklayer, Ramsey is credited as the inventor of the knuckleball pitch. He had severed the
tendon
A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...
in the index finger of his pitching hand with a
trowel
A trowel is a small hand tool used for digging, applying, smoothing, or moving small amounts of viscous or particulate material. Common varieties include the masonry trowel, garden trowel, and float trowel.
A power trowel is a much larger gas ...
. The result was that Ramsey's pitches had a natural knuckleball motion. He threw with a fastball motion, holding the ball with his index finger retracted, since he could not straighten it, and with just his finger tip on the ball.
Some historians have disputed that he threw a knuckleball in the modern sense, in that his ball movement was like what is now known as
knuckle curve.
While playing for the
Chattanooga Lookouts
The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...
of the
Southern League, Ramsey pitched a
no-hitter on May 30, 1885, against the
Nashville Americans
The Nashville Americans were a minor league baseball team that played in the Class B Southern League from 1885 to 1886. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Sulphur Spring Park, later known as Sulphur Dell ...
in a road game where only three players reached base, two via
walks and one on an
error
An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'.
In statistics ...
.
On August 29, Chattanooga traded him to Louisville Colonels of the American Association in exchange for
John Connor
John Connor is a fictional character in the ''Terminator'' franchise. Created by writer and director James Cameron, the character is first referred to in the 1984 film ''The Terminator'' and first appears in its 1991 sequel '' Terminator 2: Jud ...
and $750.
He was brought in to spell star pitcher
Guy Hecker
Guy Jackson Hecker (April 3, 1856 – December 3, 1938) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was born in Youngsville, Pennsylvania. His debut game took place on May 2, 1882. His final game took place on September 30, 1890. Du ...
, who had a sore arm,
and made his major league debut on September 5,
[ in a complete game 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Browns.] In that first season with the Colonels, he started nine games, completing them all with a 3-6 win–loss record.[
For the season, his first full season in the majors, Ramsey became the number one starting pitcher for the Colonels, sharing starts with Hecker.] Ramsey logged in a league leading 588⅔ innings and 66 complete games in 67 starts. In addition to his league leading statistics that season, his 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 ...
of 2.45 and 38 wins were good for third in the league. His 499 strikeouts that season finished second behind Matt Kilroy
Matthew Aloysius "Matches" Kilroy (June 21, 1866 – March 2, 1940) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. In 1886, he had 513 strikeouts, which remains the MLB single-season record.
Early life
Kilroy was born in Philadel ...
's record setting total of 513. Ramsey's total is the second-highest total in major league history. Ramsey and Hecker's relationship steadily became more at odds the more the Ramsey's status with the team grew. At one point, Ramsey said that Hecker was jealous of his success and it would be good for the team if Hecker were released.[
Ramsey had a similar season, pitching 561 innings and winning 37 games. His 355 strikeouts led the American Association, while his 561 innings pitched, 64 games started, and 61 complete games, were all second in the league to Kilroy.] Unfortunately, his dominant years stopped after that season, and his fortunes changed for the worse beginning during the season. His win–loss record was 8–30 in 40 starts.[ On July 25, 1888, Ramsey was arrested for not paying an overdue bar bill.][
]
St. Louis
His season began the way his 1888 season went, winning one game in his 18 starts with Louisville. On July 17, he was traded to the St. Louis Browns for Nat Hudson. He pitched in just five games the rest of season, but did go 3–1 and had an ERA of 3.95.[ He returned with St. Louis for the season, and pitched his last season in the majors. He had a record of 24–17, struck out 257 batters, and had an ERA of 3.69 in innings pitched. Ramsey was released by St. Louis on September 19, 1890, and he never returned to the majors.][
]
Death
Ramsey died of pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
in his hometown of Indianapolis at the age of 41, and is interred at Crown Hill Cemetery
Crown Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located at 700 West 38th Street in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. The privately owned cemetery was established in 1863 at Strawberry Hill, whose summit was renamed "The Crown", a high point ...
.[
]
See also
* List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders
* List of St. Louis Cardinals team records
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsey, Toad
1864 births
1906 deaths
Major League Baseball pitchers
19th-century baseball players
Louisville Colonels players
St. Louis Browns (AA) players
Chattanooga Lookouts players
Denver Mountaineers players
Jacksonville Lunatics players
Savannah Modocs players
St. Joseph Saints players
Baseball players from Indianapolis
Deaths from pneumonia in Indiana
Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery