Albert George Cole (July 1, 1896 – May 30, 1975) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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, ...

. A native of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, he played professional

for 17 years from 1919 to 1935, including six seasons in

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 ...

with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

from 1921 to 1925,

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 ...

in 1925, and

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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

in 1927. In six major league seasons, he appeared in 177 games and compiled a 28–32 record and 4.67

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). In 1924, he hit

Bob Meusel Robert William Meusel (July 19, 1896 – November 28, 1977) was an American baseball left fielder, left and right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eleven seasons from 1920 through 1930, all but the last for the New York Yanke ...

with a pitch, triggering a riot that led to the Tigers' forfeiture of the game. Cole also played 12 seasons in the

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

for the

Seattle Rainiers The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 1968. They were prev ...

and Sacramento Senators (1919), San Francisco Seals (1920),

Mission Reds The Mission Reds were a Minor League Baseball team located in San Francisco, California, that played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1926 through 1937. First Missions team In early September of 1914, the failed Sacramento Solons team moved ...

(1926),

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

and Seattle Indians (1928), Mission Reds (1929–1933), and San Francisco Seals (1935). In 11 minor league seasons, he appeared in 346 games and compiled a 151–121 record and a 4.16 ERA.

Early years

Cole was born in

in 1896.

Professional baseball

Minor leagues

Cole began his professional career in 1919 with the

and Sacramento Senators. He also spent part of the 1919 season playing for the Mare Island Shipbuiders club. He spent most of 1920 with the

Tacoma Tigers Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mou ...

, and had a 24–7 win–loss record with them. He was then promoted to the San Francisco Seals and had a 5–1 record and a 1.86

(ERA) in 16 games during the 1920 season.

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American professional baseball center fielder. A native of rural Narrows, Georgia, Cobb played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent ...

watched Cole pitch a game in October 1920 and praised Cole's "size and action," noting that he liked the way Cole mixed his pitches, "slowing up his delivery at times just enough to get the hitters off their stride, and breaking a curve ball over just when they were set for the fast one."

Detroit Tigers

In November 1920, the Seals traded Cole to the

in exchange for first baseman

Babe Ellison Herbert Spencer "Bert" Ellison (November 15, 1896 – August 11, 1955) was an American baseball player. He played professional baseball for 14 years, from 1915 to 1928, including five seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers from ...

. Cole spent five years with the Tigers as both a

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 ...

and

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. He made his major league debut on April 19, 1921, and appeared in 20 games for the 1920 Tigers, including 11 games as a starter. He compiled a 7–4 record with a 4.27 ERA in his rookie season. In 1922, he appeared in 23 games, only five as a starter, and compiled a 1–6 record with a 4.88 ERA. Cole's most productive season was 1923 when he had a 13–5 record with a 4.14 ERA in 52 games, 13 as a starter. His .722 win percentage in 1923 was the third best in the American League, and his 52 games was the third highest total in the league. On Friday, June 13, 1924, during a game against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Navin Field Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a Multi-purpose stadium, multi-use stadium located in the Corktown, Detroit, Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" ...

, Cole was a principal participant in an incident that resulted in a riot that led to Detroit's forfeiture of the game. The hostility began when

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

"stiff armed" Cole on a play at first base in the top of the seventh inning. In the top of the ninth inning, Cole "dusted" off Ruth and then struck

in the back with a pitched ball. Meusel, believing that Cole had intentionally thrown at him, walked deliberately to the pitcher's mound to confront Cole, who began to retreat. Ruth charged out from the dugout, and

ran in from center field to confront Ruth. The field then became "a swirling mass of players, pushing and tugging and milling." Meusel and Cole were ejected and escorted off the field, and as they walked through the Detroit dugout Meusel threw a blow at Cole. The players continued milling and fighting, and Detroit police officers entered the field of play to restore order. Several thousand Detroit fans then "flowed over the railings like some mighty dam that had broken." The fans overpowered the police, and rioting and fist fights followed. When the police were unable to clear the field, umpire Billy Evans declared the game forfeited to the Yankees. A writer in the ''Detroit Free Press'' noted: "No such disorder as that which prevented the completion of the game has been recorded in the history of modern baseball." The next day, American League president

Ban Johnson Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson (January 5, 1864 – March 28, 1931) was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League (AL). Johnson developed the AL—a descendant of th ...

announced indefinite suspensions of Cole and Meusel. After further review, Johnson shortened the suspensions to ten days and fined Ruth for what Johnson called his "frenzied effort to participate in the trouble."

Cleveland and Chicago

On July 3, 1925, the Tigers released Cole on waiver, and he was claimed by the

. He appeared in 13 games for Indians and compiled a 1–1 record with a 6.14 ERA. During the 1926 season, Cole played for the

. He appeared in 41 games in 1926 and compiled a 29–12 record with a 2.63 ERA. In August 1926, the Reds sold Cole to the

. He appeared in 27 games for the White Sox during the 1927 season and had a 1–4 record and a 4.73 ERA.

Minor leagues

After his major league career, Cole continued to pitch for several years in the minor leagues, primarily the

. On November 5, 1927, the White Sox traded Cole was traded with Ike Boone and $100,000 to the

in exchange for

Chalmer Cissell Chalmer William Cissell (January 3, 1904 – March 15, 1949) born in Perryville, Missouri, was an American professional baseball infielder in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox (1928–32), Cleveland Indians (1932–33), Boston Red S ...

. Cole was dissatisfied playing in Portland and asked to be traded to one of the San Francisco teams. Instead, on June 20, 1928, the Portland club traded Cole with an outfielder to be named later to the

Seattle Indians Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

in exchange for pitcher Jack Knight. In January 1929, fulfilling his desire to play for a San Francisco team, Cole signed a contract with the

. He appeared in 42 games for the Reds in 1929 and compiled a 24–12 record with a 3.45 ERA. He remained with the Mission club for five years from 1929 to 1933. In 1934, he pitched for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

of the

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 (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

, then returned to the PCL with the San Francisco Seals in 1935, playing alongside

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...

in his final season of professional baseball.

Later years

Cole died in 1975 at age 78 at Mills Memorial Hospital in

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ) is the most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It is part of the San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan region, and is located about south of San Francisco. San Mateo border ...

. He was survived by his wife Helene and buried at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in

Colma, California Colma (Ohlone for "Springs") is a small incorporated List of municipalities in California, town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 U ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Bert 1896 births 1975 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Detroit Tigers players Cleveland Indians players Chicago White Sox players Seattle Rainiers players Baseball players from San Francisco 20th-century American sportsmen