Pat Malone


Perce Leigh "Pat" Malone was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from for the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees. Listed at and, Malone batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He played for four pennant winners and two World Series champions.
Born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Malone started playing semipro baseball when a teenager. Initially signed by the New York Giants in 1922, his hard-drinking lifestyle brought him in conflict with manager John McGraw, who sold his contract to the minor league Minneapolis Millers after 1924 spring training. Malone would spend six years in the minor leagues, but after successful seasons in 1926 and 1927, was signed by the Cubs before the 1928 season.
As a rookie with the Cubs, Malone won 18 games and finished second to Dazzy Vance in the National League with 155 strikeouts. In 1929, a year in which the Cubs won the pennant, he led the NL in wins, shutouts, and strikeouts, becoming the league's first strikeout champion besides Vance in seven years. He made two starts in the World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics but lost both, and the Cubs were defeated in five games. In 1930, he led the NL with 20 wins. The 1931 season saw him clash with new Cubs manager Rogers Hornsby; Malone became involved in further trouble in September when he beat up two reporters and was fined $500. He nonetheless posted a 16–9 record. In 1932, Malone had a 15–17 record and 3.38 earned run average, but was relegated to the bullpen for the World Series against the Yankees when the Cubs selected three other starters. Relieving Charlie Root after the starter gave up Babe Ruth's called shot, Malone pitched scoreless innings in his only appearance of the series; the Cubs were defeated in four straight games.
Struggles in late 1933 caused Malone to lose his rotation spot in September. He enjoyed a 14–7 record and a 3.53 ERA in 1934 but again lost his rotation spot in September, which he claimed was due to the Cubs not wanting him to gain bonuses for winning 15 or more games. Acquired by the Yankees before the 1935 season, Malone was used mainly as a reliever for the next three years. He led the American League in saves in 1936 and was on the Yankee roster when they beat the Giants in the World Series. He did less well in 1937, however, and was left off the roster when the Yankees again beat the Giants in the World Series. After one more season in the minor leagues, Malone retired. He returned to Altoona, where he operated a tavern before dying at the age of 40 in 1943 due to acute pancreatitis brought on by his life of heavy drinking.

Early life

Perce Leigh Malone was the second child of Christian and Anna Malone, born on September 25, 1902, in Altoona, Pennsylvania. His father was an assistant yard master for the Pennsylvania Railroad, and his mother and sister, Evelyn, also supported the family through odd jobs. Loathing the name "Perce," Malone insisted on being called "Pat" instead.
A rather wild youth, Malone enjoying participating in fights. He led a gang of local boys who would steal food and carry it to their hideout in a ravine out of town, where they would plan their next move. Malone attended school only until the age of 14, dropping out to take a job with Adam's Express, a package-delivery service. Soon, Malone had begun playing baseball, joining a local semipro team when he was just 15. "I caught the ball and let loose with a peg to first base with such speed that George Quinn, the manager, immediately decided a fellow with an arm like that ought to be a pitcher", Malone later remembered. He started working for the Pennsylvania Railroad as a fireman at age 16, lying about his age to get the job. Then, he served a year in the United States Army, which assigned him to Fort Douglas in Utah. While in the Army, Malone participated in sports such as baseball, football, and boxing.
Returning to Altoona after his military service, Malone resumed his job with the Pennsylvania Railroad, boxed under the name "Kid Williams," and played football in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, at Juniata College. He also played baseball for the semipro Altoona Independents, with whom he excelled. Pat Blake, a friend of his, recommended the pitcher to the management of the Knoxville Pioneers, a Class D team in the Appalachian League. Knoxville took Blake's advice, and the Pioneers signed Malone to pitch for them in 1921.

Minor League career

In 28 games for Knoxville in 1921, Malone had a 13–12 record, a 2.96 earned run average, and 183 hits allowed in 219 innings pitched. Dick Kinsella, a scout for the New York Giants, recommended him to the major league team, who purchased Malone's rights before the 1922 season.
Malone attended spring training for the Giants in 1922 but made a disfavorable impression on manager John McGraw, who rebuked him for his heavy drinking and rowdy behavior. He began the year with the Waterbury Brasscos of the Class A Eastern League. In 24 games for the club, he pitched excellently, accruing just a 6–8 record but a 2.31 ERA in 140 innings pitched. Reports of his disorderly behavior got back to McGraw, however, who threatened to suspend Malone on general principles. Instead, Malone told McGraw he was quitting and returned to Altoona to play semipro ball. He refused to return to the Giants unless the organization promoted him to the Toledo Mud Hens of the Class AA American Association. The Giants agreed, and Malone went to Toledo, where he posted an 11.25 ERA in three games before the season ended.
In 1923, Malone again went to spring training for the Giants but was sent to Toledo to start the season. He spent the whole year with the Mud Hens, but did not pitch well. Malone posted a 9–21 record and a 5.64 ERA, ranking among the league leaders with 21 losses, 120 walks, and 151 earned runs allowed. He joined the Giants in spring training for a final time in 1924, but he repeatedly violated his curfew, partying at the Watrous Hotel. These violations were the last straw for McGraw, and the Giants sold his contract to the American Association's Minneapolis Millers.
The next two seasons were not good ones for Malone. Spending most of 1924 with Minneapolis, Malone posted a 2–9 record and an 8.30 ERA over 77 innings pitched in 20 games. He also made three appearances for the Beaumont Exporters of the Class A Texas League, with whom he had a 1–1 record and a 6.50 ERA. In 1925, he spent most of the season in the Texas League again, this time with the Shreveport Sports, for whom he pitched in 33 games. He had a 12–13 record, a 4.83 ERA, and 219 hits allowed in 190 innings pitched. Also making four appearances for Minneapolis, Malone had an 0–2 record and a 9.33 ERA.
In 1926, Malone joined another Class A team, the Des Moines Demons of the Western League. Improved control of his fastball resulted in a lower number of walks and his most successful season to date. In 52 games for the team, he had a 28–13 record and a 2.84 ERA, finishing second in the league in wins and innings pitched. Malone was selected to the league's first All-Star team, and his strong pitching helped Des Moines win the league pennant.
Back in Minneapolis for 1927, Malone finally stuck with the Millers for a full season. He had a 20–18 record and a 3.98 ERA for the ballclub, ranking among the league leaders with 20 wins, 319 innings pitched, and 53 games. Most notably, he led the American Association with 214 strikeouts. Team owner Mike Kelley eagerly began offering Malone's contract rights for sale to major league clubs, eventually selling them to the Chicago Cubs, whose manager, Joe McCarthy, was a good friend of Kelley. The Cubs paid Minneapolis $25,000 total, with $15,000 up front and the rest due by the next season's trade deadline of June 15, unless the Cubs were dissatisfied with Malone and wished to return him to the Millers instead.

Chicago Cubs (1928–1934)

1928

The Cubs considered using Malone as a starter to begin 1928, but control issues in spring training caused him to open the season in the bullpen. He made his major league debut on April 12, relieving Percy Jones with one out in the seventh inning in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. Due to errors by his fielders, he allowed six runs, none earned. Malone lost that game, along with his next four decisions. Things turned around for him on May 6, when he struck out eight Philadelphia Phillies over five innings of relief and earned his first win in a 5–4 victory. Getting a start against the Giants on May 12, he "pitched for Chicago in a masterly manner" according to The New York Times, allowing just six hits and two runs in a complete game, 4–2 victory. Five days later, he pitched his first major league shutout, holding the Boston Braves to two hits in a 2–0 victory that was Chicago's 11th straight win.
As the season progressed, Malone was used more and more as a starter. He "proved to be the Cubs’ most successful and consistent pitcher, especially during the pennant race in the last two months of the 1928 season" according to Gregory H. Wolf of the Society for American Baseball Research. Malone won nine of his last 10 decisions, posted a 2.41 ERA in the season's final two months, and completed eight of his final nine starts. Though the Cubs finished the season in third place, they were only four games behind the first-place St. Louis Cardinals. In 42 games, Malone had an 18–13 record and a 2.84 ERA. He led the Cubs in wins, games, and innings pitched. Amongst other National League pitchers, Malone trailed only Dazzy Vance for the league lead with 155 strikeouts and 5.56 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.

1929

Malone got off to a strong start in 1929, this time winning his first five starts, two of which were shutouts. He struck out 12 batters on June 12 in a complete game, 7–3 victory over the Phillies. One week later, in his next start, he struck out 10 batters in a complete game, 7–3 victory over the Cardinals in which the only runs he allowed were unearned. He completed his last five starts of the season, winning four of them. On September 19, he displayed "a rare exhibition of pitching skill" according to sportswriter John Drebinger, allowing just six hits in a 5–0 victory over the Giants, his fifth shutout and 22nd win of the year. He finished the year with a 22–10 record and a 3.57 ERA, leading the NL in wins, shutouts, and strikeouts. By winning the strikeout title, he became the first pitcher besides Vance to do so in the NL since 1921. Behind his stellar pitching, the Cubs won the NL pennant.
In the 1929 World Series, the Cubs faced the Philadelphia Athletics, who were heavily favored. After Philadelphia won Game 1, Malone started Game 2 of the series but struggled, allowing six runs, five hits, and five walks in innings and taking the loss in the team's 9–3 defeat. With the Cubs down two games to one entering Game 4, Malone came on in relief in the bottom of the seventh inning, with the game tied at eight runs per side. Malone first hit Bing Miller with a pitch to load the bases, then gave up a double to Jimmie Dykes that scored the winning runs in Philadelphia's 10–8 triumph. With the Cubs one loss away from elimination, Malone started Game 5. Staked to a 2–0 lead in the fourth inning, he had allowed only two hits and two runs going to the ninth. After striking out Walter French to start the inning, however, he gave up a single to Max Bishop, followed by a two-run home run by Mule Haas which tied the game. He then allowed two more baserunners and took the loss when Miller recorded an RBI double, giving the Athletics the championship in five games.