Emil John "Dutch" Leonard (March 25, 1909 – April 17, 1983) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

player. 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) as a right-handed

knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This cha ...

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 ...

for the

Brooklyn Dodgers 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, Californi ...

(1933–1936), Washington Senators (1938–1946),

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 ...

(1947–1948) and

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 ...

(1949–1953). Born in

Auburn, Illinois Auburn is a city in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,771 at the 2010 census, and 4,681 in 2018. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Auburn is located at (39.588969, -89. ...

, Leonard batted right-handed and was listed as tall and .

Playing career

In a 20-season career, Leonard posted a 191–181

won–lost record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

with 1,170

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is den ...

s and a 3.25

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 numb ...

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning ...

. He was a six-time All-Star selection, and became the

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

of the Cubs immediately after his playing career ended (1954–1956). On July 4, 1939, Leonard pitched a complete game and the Senators defeated 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 first game of a doubleheader at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

. At a ceremony between that game and the nightcap,

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned f ...

, who had recently been diagnosed with ALS, delivered his famous "luckiest man on the face of the earth" speech. During Washington's season, Leonard was part of what was possibly the only four-man rotation in baseball history to have been all knuckleball pitchers, joining

Mickey Haefner Milton Arnold "Mickey" Haefner (October 9, 1912 – January 3, 1995) was an American knuckleball-throwing left-handed pitcher who played eight seasons in Major League Baseball between and , six and a half of them with the Washington Senators (19 ...

Johnny Niggeling John Arnold Niggeling (July 10, 1903 – September 16, 1963) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 184 games in Major League Baseball over all or parts of nine seasons (–) with the Boston Bees / Braves, Cincinnati Reds ...

and

Roger Wolff Roger Francis Wolff (April 10, 1911 – March 23, 1994) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed knuckleball pitcher, he appeared in 182 games over all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball between and : three w ...

. That year, Leonard put up a sparkling 17–7 won–lost mark (for a

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

of .708, third in the American League) and a 2.13 ERA (fourth in the AL—and one of seven seasons in which Leonard would place among his league's Top 10 in earned run average). The Senators contended for the American League pennant, but fell short of the Detroit Tigers by 1 games. Reportedly, after facing Leonard, Jackie Robinson once said: "I am glad of one thing, and that is I don't have to hit against Dutch Leonard every day. Man, what a knuckleball that fellow has. It comes up, makes a face at you, then runs away." In the 2013 biographical movie about Robinson, '' 42'', former MLB pitcher C. J. Nitkowski plays the role of Leonard pitching against Robinson.

Personal life

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

descent, Leonard was nicknamed after Hubert "Dutch" Leonard, a left-handed pitcher in the American League between 1913 and 1925. The nickname "Dutch" was also taken in his honor by crime novelist Elmore Leonard, who sported it as a tattoo. Leonard died of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

in Springfield, Illinois, on April 17, 1983, at age of 74.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Dutch 1909 births 1983 deaths American League All-Stars American people of Belgian descent Atlanta Crackers players Baseball players from Illinois Brooklyn Dodgers players Chicago Cubs coaches Chicago Cubs players Decatur Commodores players Knuckleball pitchers Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Mobile Bears players York White Roses players People from Sangamon County, Illinois National League All-Stars Philadelphia Phillies players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players

Playing career

Personal life

See also

References

External links