Noble Winfred Ballou (November 30, 1897 – January 30, 1963) 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 ...

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 appeared in 99 games, 71 of them as a

reliever 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 weather d ...

, 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), ...

between 1925 and 1929 for the Washington Senators,

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 ...

and

Brooklyn Robins The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...

. The native of Mount Morgan, Kentucky, stood tall, weighed , and threw and batted right-handed. He spent his college days at

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. As a regional comprehensive institution, EKU also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, Lancaster, and Manchester and offers over 40 online un ...

. Ballou's pitching career took place over 21 seasons between 1922 and 1944. As a big-league

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 ...

in , he worked in ten games for 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 ...

champion Senators, and appeared in Games 5 and 6 of the

1925 World Series The 1925 World Series was the championship series of the 1925 Major League Baseball season. A best-of-seven playoff, it was played between the National League (NL) pennant winner Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Senators. The Pirates def ...

. He threw

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

of hitless,

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

relief, but Washington lost both games en route to a seven-game defeat at the hands of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. Traded to St. Louis the following February, Ballou appeared in 43 games for the Browns and won 11 games, second on the club, and saved two more for a team that finished seventh and won only 62 games all year. He pitched less frequently in , getting into 21 games, and the Browns sent him to the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

of the minor-league

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 ...

, where he spent all of 1928 and won 14 games. In his final major-league season, , he appeared in 25 games for the Brooklyn Robins, but he was ineffective and his

MLB 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), ...

career ended at age 31. In his 99 career games, Ballou won 19 games and lost 20, with ten

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 ...

s, no shutouts and three saves. In innings pitched, he allowed 398 hits, 168

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

and 187

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 err ...

s, for a career ERA of 5.11. He

struck out 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 denot ...

109. Ballou continued to pitch professionally in the top-level

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

for 14 more seasons. He won 24 games (losing 13) for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

in 1931, then posted an 18–8 record for the 1935 San Francisco Seals. He died in San Francisco, aged 65, on January 29, 1963.

External links

1897 births 1963 deaths Baseball players from Kentucky Brooklyn Robins players Chattanooga Lookouts players Eastern Kentucky Colonels baseball players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Paris Bourbons players People from Whitley County, Kentucky Washington Senators (1901–1960) players St. Louis Browns players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Vicksburg Hill Billies players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1890s-stub