Guy Terrell Bush (August 23, 1901 – July 2, 1985) was an American right-handed

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 draw ...

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 (AL), ...

, nicknamed ''the Mississippi Mudcat.'' Bush played in the major leagues from 1923 to 1938 and again in 1945. The pitcher played 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 part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

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 Associat ...

Boston Bees The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

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

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 ...

in his 17-year professional baseball career.

Baseball career

Chicago Cubs

Bush was originally drafted and signed by the

in 1919 for $1,000. After attending the now defunct Tupelo Military Institute in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Missis ...

, Bush made his major league debut for the team that year on September 17, 1923. In his only game of the season, Bush came in the ninth inning and gave up one hit while striking out two. He returned with the Cubs the following season as a dual-duty starter and

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

. Bush pitched to a 2–5 record in sixteen games, half of which he started. He threw four

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s and finished four others. In 80

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bo ...

of work, he gave up 91 hits and 36

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 err ...

s, and struck out 36 batters. In the following few seasons, Bush started to take a larger role as a reliever. Bush led the league in saves in 1925, with four, and again in 1929 when he had eight. He also led the league in relief wins that season and the following season. After finishing the 1926 campaign fourth in the league with a 2.86

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 ...

in a primarily relief setting, Bush started more games than he relieved the following season. Despite giving up 79 walks while only striking out 62 batters, he had a 10–10 record on the year, with a 3.03 ERA. Bush started 22 of his 36 games, including a marathon on May 14, 1927, in which Bush and Boston Braves starter

Charlie Robertson Charles Culbertson Robertson (January 31, 1896 – August 23, 1984) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher, and is best remembered for throwing a perfect game in 1922. He was the last survi ...

duelled for eighteen innings. Bush won the game after Robertson tired, surrendering five runs in the 18th inning. In 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 ...

since then, only

Carl Hubbell Carl Owen Hubbell (June 22, 1903 – November 21, 1988), nicknamed "the Meal Ticket" and "King Carl", was an American Major League Baseball player. He was a pitcher for the New York Giants of the National League from 1928 to 1943, and remained o ...

in 1933 and

Vern Law Vernon Sanders Law (born March 12, 1930) is an American former baseball pitcher who played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played in 1950–51 and 1954–67. He batted and threw right-handed and was ...

in 1955 have matched Bush's marathon performance. Bush's ERA rose to 3.83 the next year, but he did post a 15–6 record in 42 games, 24 of which he started. Bush followed up with a career year in 1929. He finished the year on top of the league in saves and

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...

, and fourth in the league for wins. Also that year, Bush ranked twelfth in the NL

Most Valuable Player Award In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

voting. Even more impressive, Bush had a streak of eleven straight wins until it was broken by a relief loss on August 12 against the Braves. Bush was a large contributor to the team's pennant-winning season, in which they finished on top of the NL with a 98–54 record. Bush was most dominant in the

1929 World Series The 1929 World Series featured the American League (AL) champion Philadelphia Athletics playing against the National League (NL) champion Chicago Cubs. The Athletics defeated the Cubs in five games to win the Series. This Series featured the At ...

against the

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 ...

. Bush pitched two games in the series, starting one and relieving another. Bush started Game 3 and pitched a complete game, surrendering only one run on nine hits. Despite the Cubs' loss of the Series in five games, Bush pitched a total of eleven innings with 4 strikeouts and gave up just one run. After the success of the 1929 season, Bush had a disappointing season in 1930. In 225 innings of work, Bush posted a 15–10 record with a 6.20 ERA, one of the worst in the league that season. He gave up 291 hits, fifth highest in the league, and led the league in earned runs allowed with 155 and

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 str ...

es with 12. In November 1930, writer F.C. Lane wrote in ''Baseball Magazine'' about Bush's unique pitching windup: Bush had an improved season in 1931, thanks to performances such as a September 13 one-hitter against the Braves. He finished the year with a 16–8 record and a 4.49 ERA, in 180 innings of work. The following year, the Cubs again won the pennant behind Bush's 19–11 record and 3.20 ERA. That year, Bush finished the year third in the league for wins and 23rd in the NL MVP voting. The Cubs were pinned up against 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 ...

in the

1932 World Series The 1932 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1932 season. The 29th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion New York Yankees versus the National League champions Chicago Cubs. T ...

. It was an infamous matchup, known now for the general tension and fighting between both teams. (A fiery bench-jockey, Bush helped lead Chicago's mean-spirited heckling of Babe Ruth; "The Bambino" was unfazed, as evidenced by his legendary "called shot" home run in Game 3.) Bush did not fare well this time around in the World Series. As the starting pitcher for the Cubs in Game 1, Bush gave up eight runs on three hits, and walked five in just five innings of work, en route to a 12–6 Yankees win. Bush started Game 4, and lasted less than an inning. He hit

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

and gave up two hits and one earned run and was plucked from the pitching mound. For the series, Bush finished with a 0–1 record and 14.29 ERA, and gave up nine earned runs in less than six innings of work. Bush bounced back in 1933, finishing with his first 20-game winning season. He tied with Dizzy Dean and Ben Cantwell for the second most wins in the National League while also ranking among the NL's top ten with four shutouts (4th), 20 complete games (8th), and a 2.75 ERA (9th). Early in the 1933 season, Bush challenged Dizzy Dean to a mid-game fight; in describing their rivalry, Bush declared: “I get more satisfaction out of beating that guy

ean Ean may refer to: People * Ean Campbell (1856–1921), Anglican bishop in the early 20th century * Ean Elliot Clevenger, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter * Ean Evans (1960–2009), bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd from 2001 until his death ...

once than I do winning from anyone else twice." Bush followed up with another solid season in 1934, his last with the Cubs. On November 22, 1934, just a little over a month after the season, Bush was traded along with

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catc ...

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 ...

and Jim Weaver to the

for left-handed pitcher Larry French and future

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Freddie Lindstrom Frederick Charles Lindstrom (November 21, 1905 – October 4, 1981) was a National League baseball player with the New York Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Brooklyn Dodgers from 1924 until 1936. He was inducted into the Baseball Hal ...

, also then playing outfield after spending most of his career at

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. Bush left the Cubs after twelve years with the team and finished as one of the club's winningest pitchers with a record of 152–101.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Bush did not show much improvement in 1935 with the Pirates. He did, however, place his name into the record books. On May 25, the Pirates played the Braves in one of

's final games. Ruth put on a performance, collecting four hits including three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and knocking in six runners. The first home run shot came off pitcher

Red Lucas Charles Fred "Red" Lucas (April 28, 1902 – July 9, 1986) was an American professional baseball pitcher and pinch hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1923 to 1938 for the New York Giants, Boston Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and P ...

, while the last two came off Bush. The last home run was Ruth's career home run #714, and was a mammoth of a shot. It was the first home run to clear the right field grandstands at

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers ...

and was reportedly measured as a bomb. It was the last home run — in fact, the last hit of any kind — in Ruth's major league career, which ended less than a week later. Bush later described the Babe's final blast: "He uthgot ahead of the ball and hit it over the triple deck, clear out of the ballpark. I'm telling you, it was the longest cockeyed ball I ever saw in my life." Despite Ruth's Goliath performance,

Waite Hoyt Waite Charles Hoyt (September 9, 1899 – August 25, 1984) was an American right-handed professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for seven different teams during 1918–1938. He was one of the dominant pitchers of the 19 ...

, Ruth's former Yankee teammate, came in relief for Bush and won the game 11–7, albeit after initially blowing the save. The Pirates sent the 34-year-old Bush to the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

for the 1936 season. The transition did not go well with Bush as he gave up 49 hits in just 34 innings of work, and posted a 5.97 ERA.

Journeyman

Midway through the season, on July 20, 1936, the Pirates released Bush. He was subsequently signed by the Boston Bees (the former Braves). The Bees used him primarily as a starter and his stats improved, as a result. Despite pitching with below a 3.60 ERA in both 1936 and 1937, the

bought Bush from the Bees months prior to the start of the 1938 season. On May 7, after coming in relief in six games, Bush was released by the Cardinals. Bush's career seemed to be over, however, he did come back to the majors seven years later, at age 43. Since many teams were affected by players leaving to fight in World War II, ex-players like Bush,

and Hod Lisenbee were signed as replacements. The Reds signed Bush prior to the 1945 season, and used him as a closer. Despite picking up one save in four relief appearances, the Reds released Bush on June 2, 1945. Bush's career was finished, this time for good. ''The Mississippi Mudcat'' finished his career with a 176–136 pitching record and a 3.86 ERA over 2722 innings and 542 games–308 as a starter, 234 in relief. Bush was a better than average fielding pitcher in his major league career, recording a .974

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, divi ...

, which was 14 points higher than the league average at his position. On June 23, 1934, after committing an error on a sacrifice bunt by

Hal Schumacher Harold Henry Schumacher (November 23, 1910 – April 21, 1993), nicknamed "Prince Hal", was an American professional baseball player and right-handed pitcher who appeared in 391 games pitched (and 450 games in all) in Major League Baseball for t ...

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

, Bush handled the next 179

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the tota ...

(33 putouts, 146 assists) without an error to finish out his career. Bush also managed the Battle Creek Belles of the

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

in parts of two seasons spanning 1951–52. Guy Bush died at age 83 on July 2, 1985 of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possi ...

after working in his garden in

Shannon, Mississippi Shannon is a town in Lee County, Mississippi. The population was 1,496 at the 2020 Census. Shannon is located on Mississippi Highway 145, west of U.S. Route 45. Chiwapa Creek flows south of the town. History The town is named for Samuel Shann ...

In Popular Media

* Bush was portrayed by actor

Richard Tyson Richard Tyson is an American actor. He is best known as Kaz in '' Hardball'' (1989–1990) as well as his film roles in '' Three O'Clock High'' (1987), '' Two Moon Junction'' (1988), ''Kindergarten Cop'' (1990), '' Bound to Vengeance'' (2015), an ...

in the 1992 Babe Ruth biopic

The Babe ''The Babe'' is a 1992 American biographical sports drama film about the life of famed baseball player Babe Ruth, who is portrayed by John Goodman. Directed by Arthur Hiller, written by John Fusco, it was released in the United States on April ...

. The film played up the rivalry between Bush and Ruth.

References

External links

Guy Bush
''Baseball Library''
Guy Bush
at '' Baseball Almanac''
Guy Bush
at ''Society of American Baseball Research (SABR)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, Guy Major League Baseball pitchers Boston Bees players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Cardinals players Wichita Falls Spudders players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Chattanooga Lookouts players All-American Girls Professional Baseball League managers Baseball players from Mississippi 1901 births 1985 deaths People from Lee County, Mississippi