Richard Clark Ellsworth (March 22, 1940 – October 10, 2022) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

(1958, 1960–1966),

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

(1967),

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

(1968–1969),

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

(1969–1970), and

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

(1970–1971). Ellsworth was an

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

in 1964.

Career

Ellsworth was born in

Lusk, Wyoming Lusk is a town in and the county seat of Niobrara County, Wyoming. It is located in the High Plains (United States), High Plains. The town was founded in July 1886, by Frank S. Lusk, a renowned Wyoming rancher, partner in the Western Live Stock ...

. When he was three years old, his family moved to

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

. He played amateur baseball in Fresno as a teammate with future major leaguers

Jim Maloney James William Maloney (born June 2, 1940) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds (1960–1970) and California Angels (1971). One of the hardest-throwing pitchers of the 1 ...

and

Pat Corrales Patrick Corrales (March 20, 1941 – August 27, 2023) was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1964 to 1973, primarily for the Cincinnati Reds as well as the Philadelp ...

. Ellsworth graduated from

Fresno High School Fresno High School is a four-year secondary school located in Fresno, California. It is part of the Fresno Unified School District. Fresno High is the oldest high school in the Fresno metropolitan area and one of the few International Baccalaurea ...

in 1958. In 1958, Gene Handley scouted and signed Ellsworth for the

for a reported

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $70,000. After pitching well in an exhibition game against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, the Cubs had Ellsworth make his major league debut on June 22 against the

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

. Ellsworth allowed four runs, two

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third st ...

es, and one

hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provide ...

before the Cubs took him out of the game. The Cubs sent him to the

Fort Worth Cats The Fort Worth Cats was a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

of the Double A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. After he spent the rest of the 1958 season and the entire 1959 season in the minor leagues, the Cubs promoted him to the major leagues for good in 1960. Ellsworth won the

National League Player of the Month Award In Major League Baseball (MLB), the Player of the Month Award is given monthly during the regular season to two outstanding players, one each in the National League (NL) and American League (AL). The NL first awarded the honor during the season, ...

in May 1963 as he allowed six

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 erro ...

s in 42

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. For the 1963 season, he had a 22–10

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

and a 2.10

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 number ...

(ERA). After the season, he won the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

' Comeback Player of the Year Award, as he had finished the 1962 season with a 9–20 record. On July 28, 1963, Cubs' lefty Dick Ellsworth struck out Stan Musial three times in the Cubs' 5-1 victory over the Cardinals in a game played at Wrigley Field. Ellsworth made the National League All-Star team in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

. After the 1966 season, the Cubs traded Ellsworth to the

for

Ray Culp Raymond Leonard Culp Jr. (born August 6, 1941) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–), Chicago Cubs (), and Boston Red Sox (–). Early life Culp was b ...

. He had a 6–7 record and a 4.39 ERA for Philadelphia. After the 1967 season, the Phillies traded Ellsworth and

Gene Oliver Eugene George Oliver (March 22, 1935 – March 3, 2007) was an American professional baseball player who appeared 786 games in Major League Baseball, as a catcher, first baseman, outfielder and pinch hitter, from 1959 to 1969. Oliver played for ...

to the

for Mike Ryan and cash considerations. He was traded along with

Ken Harrelson Kenneth Smith Harrelson (born September 4, 1941), nicknamed "the Hawk" due to his distinctive profile, is an American former professional baseball player and television announcer. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1971 as a ...

and Juan Pizarro from the Red Sox to the

for

Sonny Siebert Wilfred Charles "Sonny" Siebert (born January 14, 1937) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher from 1964 to 1975. He finished with a record of 140-114 and a 3.21 ERA. He threw a no-hitter on June 10, 1966, against the ...

Vicente Romo Vicente Romo Navarro (born April 12, 1943) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. A right-hander, Romo played all or parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball between 1968 and 1982, primarily as a relief pitcher. He had an exte ...

and

Joe Azcue José Joaquín Azcue López (born August 18, 1939) is a Cuban former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, most prominently as a member of the Cleveland Indians where he played the bulk of h ...

on April 19, 1969. On August 7, 1970, the

purchased Ellsworth from Cleveland. Ellsworth returned to Milwaukee for the 1971 season. He had a 4.91 ERA for Milwaukee, and was placed on waivers in June. In 1963, Ellsworth was inducted into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame.

Personal life

During the baseball off-seasons during his career, Ellsworth sold Serta mattresses. After his playing career, Ellsworth went into real estate. In 2005, Ellsworth joined an ownership group that purchased the

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in ...

of the

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 ...

. He was the father of former MLB pitcher Steve Ellsworth. Ellsworth died in Fresno on October 10, 2022, at the age of 82.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellsworth, Dick 1940 births 2022 deaths Baseball players from Wyoming Boston Red Sox players Businesspeople from California Chicago Cubs players Cleveland Indians players Fort Worth Cats players Houston Buffs players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players National League All-Stars People from Lusk, Wyoming Philadelphia Phillies players Baseball players from Fresno, California 20th-century American sportsmen