Charles Arthur "Dazzy" Vance (March 4, 1891 – February 16, 1961) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player. He played as a

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 dr ...

for five different franchises 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 (A ...

(MLB) in a career that spanned twenty years. Known for his impressive fastball, Vance was the only pitcher to lead the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

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 den ...

s seven consecutive seasons. Vance was inducted into the

Baseball Hall of Fame 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 ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijiangs ...

Early life

Born in

Orient, Iowa Orient is a city in Orient Township, Adair County, Iowa, United States. The population was 368 at the time of the 2020 census. History Orient was incorporated on March 21, 1882, on land set aside by the nearby Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Ra ...

, Vance spent most of his childhood in Nebraska. He played semipro baseball there, then signed on with a minor league baseball team out of Red Cloud, Nebraska, a member of the

Nebraska State League The Nebraska State League (NSL) was an American professional minor league baseball league with five incarnations between 1892 and 1959. The Nebraska State League formed five times: in 1892, from 1910 to 1915, from 1922 to 1923, from 1928 to 1938 an ...

, in 1912. After pitching for two other Nebraska State League teams in 1913 (Superior) and 1914 ( Hastings Giants), Vance made a brief major league debut with 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 ...

in 1915 and appeared with the

New York Yankees 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 ...

that year as well. However, it took several years before he established himself as a major league player. Vance was discovered to have an arm injury in 1916 and was given medical treatment. He continued to work on his pitching in the minor leagues, appearing with teams in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

;

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnat ...

;

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

;

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

; and

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

. Vance only reappeared in the major leagues once for the Yankees, pitching two games in 1918. Vance said he was suddenly able to throw hard again in 1921 while pitching for the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

of the Southern Association: he struck out 163 batters and finished the season with a 21–11

win–loss record 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 ...

. The Pelicans sold his contract to the Brooklyn Robins in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

. The Robins wanted to acquire catcher

Hank DeBerry John Herman DeBerry (December 29, 1894 in Savannah, Tennessee – September 10, 1951), was an American professional baseball player, and scout. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball, most notably for the Brooklyn Robins during the 1920 ...

, but the Pelicans refused to complete the deal unless Vance was included in the transaction.

Major league career

Vance and DeBerry formed a successful

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

during their tenure with Brooklyn. In 1922, Vance produced an 18–12 record with a 3.70

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 numb ...

(ERA) and a league-leading 134

s. His best individual season came in 1924, when he led the

in wins (28), strikeouts (262) and ERA (2.16)—the pitching Triple Crown—en route to winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award. Vance set the then-National League record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game when he fanned 15

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

in a game on August 23, 1924. He later struck-out 17 batters in a 10-inning game in 1925. On September 24, 1924, Vance became the sixth pitcher in major-league history to pitch an immaculate inning, striking out all three batters on nine total pitches in the third inning of a game against the Cubs. He finished the season with 262 strikeouts, more than any two National League pitchers combined ( Burleigh Grimes with 135 and Dolf Luque with 86 were second and third respectively). That season, Vance had one out of every 13 strikeouts in the entire National League. Vance 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 September 13, 1925, against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

, winning 10–1. Vance was involved in one of the most famous flubs in baseball history, the "three men on third" incident during the 1926 season. With Vance on second and

Chick Fewster Wilson Lloyd "Chick" Fewster (November 10, 1896 – April 16, 1945) was an American professional baseball second baseman. He played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1917 and 1927 for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Cle ...

on first,

Babe Herman Floyd Caves "Babe" Herman (June 26, 1903 – November 27, 1987) was an American professional baseball player and scout. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right fielder between and , most prominently as a member of the Brooklyn Dodg ...

hit a long ball and began racing around the bases. As Herman rounded second, the third base coach yelled at him to go back, since Fewster had not yet passed third. Vance, having rounded third, misunderstood and reversed course, returning to third. Fewster arrived at third. Herman ignored the instruction and also arrived at third. The third baseman tagged out Herman and Fewster; Vance was declared safe by rule. Vance's play began to decline in the early 1930s and he bounced to the St. Louis Cardinals (becoming a member of the team known as the Gashouse Gang),

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and back to the Dodgers. On September 12, 1934, Vance hit his seventh and final major league home run at 43 years and 6 months, the 2nd oldest pitcher to do so to this day. However, just a week later commenting for a newspaper article, Vance said that he did not recommend baseball as a career to young men. Vance pointed out that very few people could make a good living out of it, especially during a time when increasing major league salaries were attracting many college-educated men who would have previously chosen other work. Vance retired after the 1935 season. He led the league in ERA three times, wins twice, and established a National League record by leading the league in strikeouts in seven consecutive years (1922–1928). Vance retired with a 197–140 record, 2,045 strikeouts and a 3.24 ERA — remarkable numbers considering he saw only 33 innings of big league play during his twenties.

Later life

Former professional baseball player Dazzy Vance duck hunting in Crystal River (15245079568)

Vance enjoyed hunting and fishing when he retired to Homosassa Springs, Florida, where he had lived since the 1920s. In 1938, Vance became ill with pneumonia. The illness worsened and kept him hospitalized for several months.Skipper, p. 177. Vance recovered and became a frequent guest at Brooklyn old-timers games. Vance was inducted into the

in 1955. He learned of his election when a highway patrolman got his attention on a local highway and told him that a photographer was at his house.Skipper, p. 179. A Dazzy Vance Day celebration was held in Brooklyn. Biographer John Skipper characterized his Hall of Fame induction as "subdued" compared to the celebration in Brooklyn.Skipper, p. 183. Vance died of a heart attack in 1961 in Homosassa Springs. His obituary in ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' said that he had been under a doctor's care but that he was active and thought to be in relatively good health when he died. His survivors included his wife Edyth and a daughter.

Legacy

In 1981,

Lawrence Ritter Lawrence Stanley Ritter (May 23, 1922 – February 15, 2004) was an American writer whose specialties were economics and baseball. Ritter was a professor of economics and finance, and chairman of the Department of Finance at the Graduate School ...

and

Donald Honig Donald Martin Honig (born 1931 in New York City) is a novelist, historian and editor who mostly writes about baseball. While a member of the Bobo Newsom Memorial Society, an informal group of writers, Honig attempted to convince Lawrence Ritter t ...

included him in their book ''The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time''. Vance is mentioned in the 1949 poem "

Line-Up for Yesterday "Line-Up for Yesterday: An ABC of Baseball Immortals" is a poem written by Ogden Nash for the January 1949 issue of '' SPORT Magazine''. In the poem, Nash dedicates each letter of the alphabet to a legendary Major League Baseball player. The poem pa ...

" by

Ogden Nash Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York Times'' the country's best ...

Notes

References

External links

*
Vance Was Violent Pitcher With Power, Speed To Burn
by Harry Grayson, May 26, 1943 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vance, Dazzy 1891 births 1961 deaths Baseball players from Iowa People from Adair County, Iowa Major League Baseball pitchers National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Pittsburgh Pirates players New York Yankees players Brooklyn Dodgers players Brooklyn Robins players St. Louis Cardinals players Cincinnati Reds players National League Pitching Triple Crown winners National League ERA champions National League strikeout champions National League wins champions York Prohibitionists players Superior Brickmakers players Hastings Reds players St. Joseph Drummers players Columbus Senators players Memphis Chickasaws players Toledo Iron Men players Rochester Hustlers players Sacramento Senators players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players People from Citrus County, Florida