James Francis "Pud" Galvin (December 25, 1856 – March 7, 1902) was an American

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), ...

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 ...

in the 19th century. He was MLB's first 300-game winner and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965.

Baseball career

Galvin grew up in Kerry Patch, an Irish neighborhood in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. He debuted for St. Louis of the National Association in 1875, the franchise's inaugural season, and started eight games for the team. He spent the next seasons with Buffalo in the International Association and later of 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 ...

. In his first full MLB season in 1879, Galvin had a

win–loss 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 matc ...

of 37–27 and a 2.28

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 ...

(retroactively calculated; ERA was not an established statistic before the 20th century) in 593 innings pitched. On August 20, 1880, he became the first major league pitcher to throw a no-hitter on the road, leading his

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

to a 1–0 victory over the

Worcester Worcesters The Worcester Worcesters were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team from 1880 to 1882 in the National League. The team is referred to, at times, as the Brown Stockings or the Ruby Legs; however, no contemporary sources from the time exist tha ...

. He pitched over 400 innings in 1880, 1881, and 1882. In 1883, Galvin went 46–29 with a 2.72 ERA, setting career highs in wins,

games started In baseball statistics, games started (denoted by GS) indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he throws the first pitch to the first opposing batter. If a player is li ...

(75), complete games (72), and innings pitched (656.1); he led the NL in the latter three categories. The following season, in 1884, he went 46–22 with a 1.99 ERA in 72 games started, 71 complete games, and 636.1 innings pitched. Galvin was traded to the

Pittsburgh Alleghenys The following is a history of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. Franchise beginnings (1870s-1899) Early baseball in Pittsburgh and the American Association The earliest mention of "base ball" in the region was found in the journal ...

midseason in 1885. He played for the Allegheny club from 1885 to 1889, pitching over 300 innings each year. He jumped to the

Pittsburgh Burghers The Pittsburgh Burghers were a baseball team in the Players' League, a short-lived Major League that existed only for the 1890 season. The team included a number of players who had jumped from the National League's Pittsburgh Alleghenys (now the ...

of the short-lived

Players League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...

before the 1890 season and then returned to the Alleghenys (now named the "Pirates") after the season. On June 14, 1892, Galvin was traded to the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

. He retired after the 1892 season, though he made a brief return to Buffalo (by this time a minor league franchise) in 1894. Galvin played in an era where two-man pitching rotations were common – hence his 6,003 innings pitched and 646 complete games, both of which are second only to the career totals of

Cy Young Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family's farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career. Young entered th ...

. Upon his retirement, Galvin held all-time records in several pitching categories, including wins, innings pitched, games started, games completed and

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s. He became MLB's first 300-game winner in 1888. Galvin holds the record for most games started in a single season by a pitcher before 1893, 75 (tied with

Will White William Henry "Whoop-La" White (October 11, 1854 – August 31, 1911) was an American baseball pitcher and manager from 1875 to 1889. He played all or parts of 10 seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily for the Cincinnati Reds in the National ...

). Galvin is the only player in baseball history to win 20 or more games in 10 different years without winning a pennant, finishing his career with a total of 365 wins and 310 losses. The nickname "Pud" originated because Galvin was said to make hitters "look like pudding." Galvin was also nicknamed "The Little Steam Engine", a tribute to his power in spite of his small size. He was sometimes known as "Gentle Jeems" because of his kind disposition.

Legacy

Galvin died poor at age 45 on March 7, 1902, in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, and, as a Roman Catholic, is buried in Calvary Catholic Cemetery. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965 by the

Veterans Committee The Veterans Committee is the popular name of various committees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum that elect participants other than recently retired players. Originally, it referenced the National Baseball Hall of Fame Committee ...

. In honor of his achievements in Buffalo, Galvin was inducted into the

Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame The Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame was started by the Buffalo Bisons organization in 1985 to honor former members of the Buffalo Bisons (1878, 1887–1888), Buffalo Bisons (1879–1885), Buffalo Bisons (1886–1970), Buffalo Bisons (1890), Buffalo ...

in 1985. A 2006

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

article referred to Galvin as "the first baseball player to be widely known for using a

performance-enhancing substance Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' reported that Galvin used the Brown-Séquard

elixir ELIXIR (the European life-sciences Infrastructure for biological Information) is an initiative that will allow life science laboratories across Europe to share and store their research data as part of an organised network. Its goal is to bring t ...

, which contained monkey

testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristi ...

, before a single game in 1889. However, no one seemed bothered by the use of the elixir, and the newspaper practically endorsed it after the game, saying that Galvin's performance was "the best proof yet furnished of the value of the discovery."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Galvin, Pud 1856 births 1902 deaths 19th-century baseball players American people of Irish descent Baseball players from St. Louis Buffalo (minor league baseball) players Buffalo Bisons (NL) managers Buffalo Bisons (NL) players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Burials at Calvary Catholic Cemetery (Pittsburgh) Catholics from Missouri Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball player-managers National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Pittsburgh Allegheny players Pittsburgh Alleghenys players Pittsburgh Burghers players Pittsburgh Pirates players San Francisco Athletics players St. Louis Brown Stockings (NA) players St. Louis Browns (NL) players

Baseball career

Legacy

See also

References

External links