Jesse Niles Tannehill (July 14, 1874 – September 22, 1956) was a

dead-ball era In baseball, the dead-ball era was the period from around 1900 to the emergence of Babe Ruth as a power hitter in 1919, when he hit a then-major league record 29 home runs; only three players since 1890 had even hit 20. This era was characterized ...

left-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 dr ...

for the

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 ...

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 Associati ...

New York Highlanders 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 o ...

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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, and the Washington Senators. Tannehill was among the best pitchers of his era and was one of the best-hitting pitchers of all time. In fact, Tannehill was such a good hitter that he was used in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

87 times in his career.

Biography and playing career

Tannehill was born in Dayton, Kentucky. He broke into 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 ...

at the age of 19 with the

; however, he struggled in 29 innings and did not reappear in the major leagues until three years later. After a partial season with the

in 1897, Tannehill set a career high in both

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 ...

() and wins (25) in 1898. Tannehill had several good years with the Pirates until his career year in 1901, when he led the

in ERA at 2.18. Tannehill posted an even better ERA in 1902 at 1.95, but as the league ERA had dropped even more precipitously, he did not lead the

in ERA. After six years with the Pirates of the

, Tannehill got involved in a salary dispute with Pirates owner

Barney Dreyfuss Bernhard "Barney" Dreyfuss (February 23, 1865 – February 5, 1932) was an executive in Major League Baseball who owned the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise from 1900 to his death. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008. Dr ...

. As a result, Tannehill jumped to the startup

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

franchise the

. After the season, he was traded by the Highlanders to the Boston Americans for Tom L. Hughes. Tannehill still had some good years left, however; he was an important part of the Boston Americans championship team of 1904. Tannehill pitched a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

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) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

on August 17, 1904 (his brother

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

went 0-for-3 for Chicago) and continued to be an above average pitcher until 1907. After this however, Tannehill went into precipitous decline, as he was traded to the Washington Senators for Case Patten. Tannehill retired from baseball in 1911, with a career ERA of 2.79 and 197 career wins. Tannehill was also noted for his strong bat in his 15-year major league career, posting a career .255 batting average (361-for-1414) with 190 runs, 55

doubles Men's doubles, Women's doubles or Mixed doubles are sports having two players per side, including; * Beach volleyball * Doubles badminton * Doubles curling * Footvolley * Doubles pickleball * Doubles squash * Doubles table tennis * Doubles te ...

, 23 triples, 5

home runs 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 ...

, 142 RBI and 105

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Sec ...

After baseball

After retiring as a player, Tannehill managed the Portsmouth Truckers of the

Virginia League The Virginia League was a minor league baseball affiliation which operated in Virginia and North Carolina from 1906 to 1928. It was classified as a "C" league from 1906 to 1919 and as a "B" league from 1920 to 1928. The most famous alumni to c ...

in 1914. He then served as an umpire in the

Ohio State League The Ohio State League was a minor league baseball league that operated in numerous seasons between 1887 and 1947, predominantly as a Class D level league. League franchises were based in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

, and Western League, before returning to the majors as a coach for the

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 ...

in 1920 under manager

Gavvy Cravath Clifford Carlton "Gavvy" Cravath (March 23, 1881 – May 23, 1963), also nicknamed "Cactus", was an American right fielder and right-handed batter in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. One of the sport's most ...

, a stint that lasted one season. In 1923 he managed the Topeka Kaws in the Southwestern League. In his last years, Tannehill worked in a Cincinnati machine shop and was a frequent visitor to

Crosley Field Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) ...

, the home of the

from 1912 to 1970. He died of a stroke at Speers Hospital in Dayton, Campbell County, Kentucky on September 22, 1956.

External links

Baseball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tannehill, Jesse 1874 births 1956 deaths Baseball players from Kentucky Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball outfielders Cincinnati Reds players Pittsburgh Pirates players New York Highlanders players Boston Americans players Boston Red Sox players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players National League ERA champions Philadelphia Phillies coaches Minor league baseball managers Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Birmingham Barons players South Bend Benders players St. Joseph Drummers players Portsmouth Truckers players 19th-century baseball players People from Dayton, Kentucky Chillicothe Infants players

Biography and playing career

After baseball

See also

External links