Addison Foster Brennan (July 18, 1887 – January 7, 1962) was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

. Brennan began his professional career in 1908 with the

Springfield Midgets The Springfield Midgets were a minor league baseball team that played from 1903 to 1904 in the Missouri Valley League and from 1906 to 1909 and 1921 to 1930 in the Western Association. Based in Springfield, Missouri, they were affiliated with the St ...

. He played in 1909 with the Wichita Jobbers, and had a win–loss record of 18–16 with them that season. After the season, the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

purchased his contract without having seen him pitch. The

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

traded for him in January 1910 due to finding this out, acquiring Brennan and

Bob Ewing George Lemuel Ewing (April 24, 1873 – June 20, 1947) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in the majors from 1902 to 1912 for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals. Early life Ewing was born ...

for

Harry Coveleski Harry Frank Coveleski (April 23, 1886 – August 4, 1950) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and Detroit Tigers. Early life Coveleski was born as the fourth of five ball-playing brothers ...

and Frank Corridon. Brennan made his major league debut on May 19, 1910, and played in 19 games his rookie season, finishing the year with a 2–0 record and a 2.33

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 ...

(ERA). The following season, he split the season between the Phillies and the

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 Fiel ...

. In 1912, he rejoined the Phillies' major league roster full-time, and pitched for them until a late-July bout of

Diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

sidelined him for the rest of the season. In 27 games he had an 11–9 record and a 3.57 ERA. The following season, Brennan pitched in 40 games, and had a career-high of 14 wins, 12 losses, and a 2.39 ERA. In one game against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, manager

John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager (baseball), manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants (NL), New York Giants. He was also the ...

threw insults at Brennan while he was pitching. After the game, Brennan went after McGraw and punched him twice; both were fined and suspended for five days. After the season ended, Brennan jumped to the newly formed

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 ...

and signed a three-year deal with the Chicago Federals. He pitched in 16 games in 1914 and 19 games in 1915, and spent most of both seasons suffering from arm trouble. He then spent two years with the minor league

Atlanta Crackers The Atlanta Crackers were a Minor League Baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1966. History Atlanta played its inaugu ...

, winning 28 games over that time. His career ended the following year after playing in two games for the Washington Senators and one game for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. After retiring, he served as head coach of the Fulton High School baseball team for two decades, and lived in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

until his death in 1962.

References

External links

Ad Brennan
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Ad 1887 births 1962 deaths Baseball players from Kansas People from Allen County, Kansas Major League Baseball pitchers Philadelphia Phillies players Chicago Whales players 20th-century American sportsmen Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Cleveland Indians players Cincinnati Reds scouts Springfield Midgets players Wichita Jobbers players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Atlanta Crackers players