Jack Stivetts
John Elmer Stivetts was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball spanning from 1889 to 1899. He played in the American Association with the St. Louis Browns, and in the National League with the Boston Beaneaters and Cleveland Spiders. "Happy Jack" was born to German immigrants and raised in Ashland, Pennsylvania. He initially followed his father into the coal mining industry before playing professional baseball. After playing seasons in minor league baseball, he was signed by the Browns. Over the next few seasons, he was regarded as one of the best pitchers in baseball.
He led the AA in earned run average in his first MLB season, and then in strikeouts two seasons later. In the years spanning from 1890 through 1896, he posted 20 or more victories in a season six times; two in which he won more than 30. In 1892, he won a career-high 35 games, and on August 6, he threw a no-hitter. During his seven seasons with the Beaneaters, he was part of four NL championships, and pitched alongside future Hall of Fame members John Clarkson and Kid Nichols. He was among the best hitting pitchers of his era, and was often used at other positions when he was not pitching. His season total of seven home runs in 1890 stood as the record for pitchers until 1931. He compiled a.298 lifetime batting average, hit 35 home runs, and delivered 357 runs batted in .
In his last season in the major leagues, he played for the Spiders, widely considered to be one of the worst teams in MLB history. After his baseball career, he returned to his hometown of Ashland. He worked for the area coal mines as a brewery wagon driver and carpenter, and died there at 62 years of age.
Early life
John Elmer Stivetts was born on March 31, 1868 in Ashland, Pennsylvania. His father, Adam, a coal worker, and mother, Amelia, were both German immigrants. He was raised in a family of Lutherans, receiving his baptism one month after his birth, and his confirmation on April 2, 1882 at the age of 14 from Christ's United Lutheran Church in Ashland. He attended public schools for eight years, before following his father in the coal trade. He married Margaret Ann "Maggie" Thomas in June 1896, and together they had one son, John, and five daughters, Ida, Mary, Leona, Margaret, and Gladys.In June 1897, at the age of 19, Stivetts began his professional baseball career with the Ashland representative of the Central Pennsylvania League. He compiled a 9–5 win–loss record that season with a 1.35 ERA. He returned to the Ashland team in 1888, though he later joined the Allentown Peanuts of the Central League. He began the 1889 season with the York representative of the Middle States League. It was there when an umpire named Tim Hurst noticed Stivetts' talent; who then recommended him to Charles Comiskey, the manager of the St. Louis Browns of the AA. Comiskey was impressed by the velocity of Stivetts' pitches, and offered him a contract. The Philadelphia Athletics soon made an offer of their own, but he accepted the Browns' salary offer of $275 a month, with a $200 signing bonus.
Career
St. Louis
1889 season
When Stivetts joined the Browns, he became their third starting pitcher in the rotation behind Silver King and Ice Box Chamberlain. He made his major league debut on June 26, 1889 against the Cincinnati Reds. He pitched a complete game and struck out nine batters, but lost the game by the score of 6–1 behind several errors made by his teammates. His performance was noted in the press to have "made a good impression."In his 26 games pitched that season, he had a W–L record of 12–7 and had a league-leading 2.25 ERA while St. Louis finished two games behind the Brooklyn Bridegrooms for the AA championship. He started 20 games, completed 18, struck out 143, and pitched 191 innings. It was reported on November 13, 1889 that he had re-signed with the Browns for the 1890 season.
1890 season
During the off-season, an up-start league was created, the Players' League , which drew many players away from teams from both the AA and NL teams. The Browns lost a few of their best players as well, including Comiskey, their player-manager, and King, the team's top pitcher. Chamberlain re-signed with the team, but he was sold to the Columbus Solons after pitching in just five games. These movements left Stivetts and Toad Ramsey as the franchise's top two starters, with rookie Billy Hart cast as the occasional relief starter.The Browns opened the regular season on April 18 with a four-game series on the road versus the Louisville Colonels, and Stivetts started games two and four. In game two, he recorded 13 strikeouts, but lost the game 5–3 on a tenth-inning, two run double by Tim Shinnick. In game four on April 21, Stivetts was again credited with the loss by allowing 17 runs to score, seven of which were earned. He fared better in his third start however, allowing just one run as the Browns defeated the Solons by a 14–1 score. He struck out 12 batters, including the first seven he faced, and hit the first home run of his career.
On June 10, against Fred Smith and the Toledo Maumees, he hit two home runs in one game, the first of three times in his career he accomplished the feat. The first was a two-run home run in the fifth inning, and the second came with his team down by three runs in the bottom half of ninth inning and the bases loaded. It was the first, and only, grand slam of his career, and the second "ultimate grand slam" in history. In a game versus the Brooklyn Gladiators on July 6, manager Chris von der Ahe removed the Browns' starting pitcher Ramsey in the third inning and replaced him with Stivetts. Though the crowd momentarily interrupted the game in protest, the move proved successful. Stivetts hit a home run in the fifth inning to give the Browns a 3 runs to 1 advantage, leading the team to an eventual 7–2 victory. The home run was his sixth of the season, and he added another on August 9 for number seven: his final season total. His seven home runs in a season by a pitcher was neither broken nor tied until 1931, when Wes Ferrell hit nine for the Cleveland Indians. St. Louis finished in third-place among the nine AA teams, 12 games behind the Colonels. Stivetts had a W–L record of 27–21, a 3.52 ERA, and 289 strikeouts in 419 innings pitched, along with three shutouts.
1891 season
On January 25, 1891, it was reported that he had re-signed with the Browns for the up-coming season. The season opened April 8, and the Browns faced the Cincinnati Kelly's Killers at home. Stivetts was the team's opening day starting pitcher. The game ended in the bottom of ninth inning when the umpire, former player and St. Louis native Bill Gleason, determined that Cincinnati was intentionally allowing St. Louis to score in an effort to delay the game. St. Louis was awarded the forfeit when Cincinnati refused to play. AA president, Louis Kramer, declared the forfeit illegal a short time later, and the game was re-played on April 12. St. Louis won the re-match behind the pitching of Stivetts. This was Gleason's second and last career game as an umpire. Over the course of the season, Stivetts was the Browns' ace, pitching mostly every second or third game the team played. When not pitching, or when he occasionally played in right field, the Browns used Joe Neale, Willie McGill, and future Hall of Fame executive Clark Griffith as part of the starting rotation. On May 30, Stivetts started both games of a doubleheader in a home series versus the Philadelphia Athletics. Due to large leads by the Browns, he was pulled from each game; lasting two innings in the first and six in the second.Stivetts won each of his next three starts, hitting a home run in the third game, on June 6, against the Boston Reds. He hit two more in a game on August 6, against Gus Weyhing of the Athletics, the second two-homer game of his career. He connected for another off of Weyhing in a game on September 16, during a four-run ninth inning that gave the Browns a 10–7 victory. This was his seventh home run of the season, fourth as a pitcher, adding to three that he hit while playing right field. Again, he was among the best pitchers in the AA, and among the league leaders in many pitching categories. His 259 strikeouts led the league, while his 33 victories were third, and his 2.86 ERA ranked fifth. St. Louis completed the season second in the AA among the nine teams, 8.5 games behind the champion Reds.
Boston
1892 season
Though Stivetts initially denied it, it was reported on September 28, 1891 that he signed with the Boston Beaneaters of the National League for the 1892 season. Stivetts joined a pitching rotation that already included future Baseball Hall of Fame members John Clarkson and Kid Nichols, as well as veteran Harry Staley. With Boston's solid pitching staff, and their potent mix of position players consisting of future Hall of Fame members and established veterans, the team was expected to compete for a second consecutive NL championship. When analyzing the 12 National League teams, New York Giants captain, Buck Ewing, remarked about Boston's roster, "I think Clarkson has seen his better days. Jack Stivetts will strengthen them wonderfully. He is one of the best pitchers in the country to-day." In Stivetts' first start of the season on April 23, his pitching was described as "wild", as he issued six bases on balls. He prevailed, however, and Boston won by the score of 11–7. Four days later, he was victorious again, and Boston's W–L record stood at 10–1 after their first 11 games. On June 23, he hit his first home run of the season, along with a double, in a 13–6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. The Pittsburg Dispatch reported on July 1 that Stivetts was leading Boston hitters in batting at that point in the season.With Stivetts now established, Clarkson became expendable and was released from the team on June 30, leaving Boston with a solid three-man pitching rotation for the remainder of the season. On August 6, 1892, Stivetts pitched a no-hitter against the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, an 11–0 victory. Later, on September 5, he started, completed, and defeated Louisville in both games of a doubleheader. The following day, the press credited the victories to his ability to work well with runners on the bases. The regular season for the Beaneaters closed on October 15 with a doubleheader against the Washington Senators. Stivetts pitched the second game, and delivered a complete game shutout, his third shutout of the season, and his 35th victory. Although he finished within the top-ten in several pitching statistical categories, his strikeout total dropped to 180 in 1892. His 3.9 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched was significantly lower from the 5.3 the previous season.
The AA had dissolved following the 1891 season, with several teams merging with the NL, re-establishing itself as the lone "major league". The NL devised a post-season series to determine a champion between the two half-season victors. This series pitted the Beaneaters against the Cleveland Spiders. The first game occurred on October 17; Stivetts started for Boston, and future Hall of Famer Cy Young pitched for Cleveland. The pitching duel lasted eleven scoreless innings before the game was brought to end by darkness. After Boston won game two behind Staley on October 18, Stivetts started and gained the victory in the game on October 19. The Beaneaters were declared the NL champion after winning five straight after the opening tie game; Stivetts gained victories in three. This playoff scheme was abandoned after the season.