Thomas James Hughes (November 29, 1878 – February 8, 1956) was a right-handed

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 ...

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 ...

. From through , Hughes played for the

Chicago Orphans 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 located ...

(1900–01),

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

(1902),

Boston Americans 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 ...

(1902–03),

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 ...

(1904) and Washington Senators (1904–09, 1911–13). He debuted on September 7, 1900, and played his final game on October 3, 1913. A native of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, Hughes was nicknamed "Long Tom" for his height, a then-impressive . His younger brother, Ed Hughes, also played for Chicago (NL) and Boston (AL), making them the first set of brothers to play for the Red Sox.

Career

In 1901, Hughes completed 32 of his 35 starts for Chicago, including

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 ...

. Despite his 10–23 mark, in part due to low run support, he recorded a 3.24

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 ...

while striking out 225 opponents, the third-best ever for a

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 ...

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

. He jumped to the

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 ...

the following season, while dividing his playing time between Baltimore and Boston. In 1903, he became the third starter in the Boston rotation, behind

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 ...

and

Bill Dinneen William Henry Dinneen, alternately spelled Dineen (April 5, 1876 – January 13, 1955), was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who followed his 12-year career from 1898 to 1909 with a highly regarded tenure as an American L ...

. Hughes responded with a 20–7 mark and a 2.57 ERA, helping his team to clinch the AL title. He pitched in the inaugural

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

, losing Game Three. Before the 1904 season, Hughes was sent to the Highlanders in exchange for

Jesse Tannehill Jesse Niles Tannehill (July 14, 1874 – September 22, 1956) was a dead-ball era left-handed pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Highlanders, Boston Red Sox, and the Washington Senators. Tannehill was among the best pit ...

, an unpopular trade in Boston. Hughes came up short in New York and was traded to the Senators during the midseason. Again, he suffered low run support in 1905, when he went 17–20 with a 2.35 ERA. The next three seasons he averaged a 2.89 ERA, with a career-best 2.21 in 1908, and an 18–15 mark the same year. On August 3, 1906, Hughes became the first pitcher in the modern era (1901 and later) to pitch a shutout and hit a

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 ...

that accounted for the only run in the game, when he hit a solo shot in the 10th inning off St. Louis Browns pitcher

Fred Glade Frederick Monroe Glade (January 25, 1876 – November 21, 1934) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1902 through 1908, Glade played for the Chicago Orphans (1902), St. Louis Browns (1904–1907) and New York Highlanders (1908). ...

, at Sportsman's Park II, to give Washington a 1–0 victory. Since then, the feat has been matched only by

Gene Packard Eugene Milo Packard (July 13, 1887, in Colorado Springs, Colorado – May 19, 1959, in Riverside, California) was a professional baseball pitcher who played in the Major Leagues from 1912 through 1919 for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Kansa ...

(1915) in the

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

, Red Ruffing (1932),

Spud Chandler Spurgeon Ferdinand "Spud" Chandler (September 12, 1907 – January 9, 1990) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed starting pitcher and played his entire career for the New York Yankees ...

(1938) and

Early Wynn Early Wynn Jr. (January 6, 1920 – April 4, 1999), nicknamed "Gus", was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox, ...

(1959) in the American League, and

Jim Bunning James Paul David Bunning (October 23, 1931 – May 26, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher and politician who represented Kentucky in both chambers of the United States Congress. He was the sole Major League Baseball athlete to ha ...

(1965), Juan Pizarro (1971),

Bob Welch Bob Welch may refer to: *Bob Welch (baseball) (1956–2014), American baseball pitcher *Bob Welch (author) (born c. 1955), American author and newspaper columnist *Bob Welch (musician) (1945–2012), American musician and member of Fleetwood Mac ** ...

(1983), and Noah Syndergaard (2019) in the National League. Hughes was sent to the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

in the 1909 midseason. In 1910, he topped the league with 31 wins (against 12 losses), a .721

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 ...

, and 222 strikeouts while pitching 326 innings. The next year he returned to Washington for his last three major league seasons. In a 13-season career, Hughes posted a 132–174 record with 1368 strikeouts and a 3.09 ERA in 2644 innings, including 25

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 and 227

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. As a hitter, Hughes posted a .198

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(190-for-958) with 89 runs, 28

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 ...

, 15 triples, 6

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 ...

, 79 RBI, 8

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

and 39

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 ...

. Hughes retired from baseball in 1918. He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

in 1956, aged 77. He was buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in River Grove, Illinois.

Career stats

References

External links

1906 SenatorsBaseball LibraryThe Hardball TimesMinneapolis Millers history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Tom 1878 births 1956 deaths Chicago Orphans players Baltimore Orioles (1901–02) players New York Highlanders players Boston Americans players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Major League Baseball pitchers Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Salt Lake City Bees players Little Rock Travelers players Beaumont Exporters players Baseball players from Chicago 19th-century baseball players

Career

Career stats

See also

References

External links