Ames, New York Giants (red), from the Domino Discs series (PX7), issued by Kinney Brothers MET DP869206

Leon Kessling "Red" Ames (August 2, 1882 – October 8, 1936) 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 (A ...

(MLB) from 1903 to 1919 for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

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 ...

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, and

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 ...

. Listed at and , he threw right-handed and was a

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better ag ...

Major league career

Born in

Warren, Ohio Warren is a city in and the county seat of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. Located in Northeast Ohio, northeastern Ohio, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown, Ohio, Youngstown and southeast of Cleveland. The population was 39 ...

, Ames was a third or fourth starter for the

during their early period of dominance under

John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 189 ...

. He made his debut on September 14, 1903, pitching an abbreviated five-inning

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 ...

against the

(the game was called due to darkness), but was not in the rotation full-time until 1905, when his 22 wins and 2.74 ERA helped the Giants to their first twentieth-century world championship. This was by far his best season; although the Giants were perennial contenders during this time, injury and wildness kept him from becoming a star even though he was the

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

pitcher three years running. A career ERA of 2.63 ties him with

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 ...

. He pitched in three

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

with the Giants (1905, 1911, 1912), but appeared almost entirely in relief in the fall classic, starting only once, the last game in 1911, which he lost decisively to the world champion

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakla ...

. He was traded to the Reds in 1913, and never again approached his earlier success with the Giants. Ames' greatest distinction was being one of the wildest pitchers in history with a curveball charitably described as "dramatic." Other of his notable accomplishments are leading 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 ...

in saves with six in 1914 and eight in 1916, and in strikeouts per nine innings pitched in 1905 (6.78), 1906 (6.90) and 1907 (5.63). On Opening Day, April 15, 1909, he held the

Brooklyn Superbas 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, Califo ...

hitless for nine innings, but as neither team had scored,

extra innings Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie. Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine regulation innings (in softball and high school baseball games there are typically seven innings; in Little Lea ...

were required. Ames allowed a hit in the 10th inning, then went on to allow three runs in the 13th inning, as the Giants lost, 3–0. Such efforts were originally recognized as no-hitters (as no hits were allowed through nine innings), but since 1991 are no longer recognized by Major League Baseball. This nonetheless remains the longest outing by a Giants starting pitcher on Opening Day. Ames,

Lee Meadows Henry Lee "Specs" Meadows (July 12, 1894 – January 29, 1963) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher over parts of 15 seasons (1915–1929) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelp ...

and

Bill Doak William Leopold Doak (January 28, 1891 – November 26, 1954) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who played for three teams between 1912 and 1929. He spent portions of 13 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was nicknamed "Spi ...

were involved in a car accident on April 16, 1919, when the car they were in crashed into a

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

in St. Louis. Initial reports indicated that none were seriously injured.

Later years

After leaving the majors, Ames pitched in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

for three more years and managed briefly in the minors in 1923. His son, Leon Kessling "Red" Ames Jr., played for Ohio State in 1927 and then in the farm system 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 ...

for several years.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ames, Red Cincinnati Reds players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Ohio New York Giants (NL) players Sportspeople from Warren, Ohio Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Cardinals players 1882 births 1936 deaths Ilion Typewriters players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Daytona Beach Islanders players

Major league career

Later years

See also

References

External links