Thomas H. "Toad" Ramsey (August 8, 1864 – March 27, 1906) was an American Major League Baseball player who pitched in the majors from to . Ramsey spent his entire career in the American Association, split between two different teams. He played for the Louisville Colonels and St. Louis Browns. He is sometimes credited with inventing a pitch, the knuckleball. 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, and a former

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, Ramsey is credited as the inventor of the knuckleball pitch. He had severed the tendon in the index finger of his pitching hand with a trowel. 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 In Major League history, the term knuckle curve or knuckle curveball has been used to describe three entirely different pitches. All are unrelated to the similar sounding knuckleball. The first, more modern and commonly used pitch called the kn ...

. While playing for the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern League, Ramsey pitched a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

on May 30, 1885, against the Nashville Americans in a road game where only three players reached base, two via walks and one on an error. On August 29, Chattanooga traded him to Louisville Colonels of the American Association in exchange for John Connor and $750. He was brought in to spell star pitcher Guy Hecker, who had a sore arm, and made his major league debut on September 5, in a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

4-3 loss to the St. Louis Browns. In that first season with the Colonels, he

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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 In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

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 of 2.45 and 38 wins were good for third in the league. His 499

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s that season finished second behind Matt Kilroy'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 Nathaniel P. "Nat" Hudson (January 12, 1859 or 1869 – March 14, 1928) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Browns from 1886 to 1889. Hudson started his professional baseball career at the age of 15, with Quincy ...

. 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 in his hometown of Indianapolis at the age of 41, and is interred at Crown Hill Cemetery.

References

External links