Charles Leander "Bumpus" Jones (January 1, 1870 – June 25, 1938) was an American 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 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 ...

who played for 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 ...

and

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 ...

Early life

He was born in

Cedarville, Ohio Cedarville is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Greene County, Ohio, Greene County, Ohio, United States. The village is within the Dayton, Ohio, Dayton Greater Dayton, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,257 at the 2020 U ...

. Newspaper accounts from Cedarville have described him as being listed as black, albeit with skin that passed for Caucasian. Census reports listed him as a "

mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...

". Genealogical research has speculated that Jones came from "Pocahontas' people in Virginia." In reality he was Occaneechi-Saponi and Catawba.

Baseball career

Jones made only eight appearances in his brief major league career, he threw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

in his first major league appearance with the Cincinnati Reds on October 15, 1892, the last day of the season. The victims that day were the

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

, who lost 7–1. Jones was not perfect, as he gave up four walks, and he did not pitch a

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

, as an

error An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

led to an unearned run. It was one of the last games played with a "pitcher's box" with the pitcher beginning 55 1/2 feet from home plate; the following season, the

pitcher's mound A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refer ...

would be introduced, with pitchers starting their pitch on a rubber slab 60 feet and 6 inches from home plate. After that, Jones split 1893 between Cincinnati and the New York Giants, appearing in seven games overall, while going 1–4 with a 10.19

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

. Jones would never pitch in the majors again. He remains the only player in Major League history to pitch a no-hitter in his first game. Only Bobo Holloman of the St. Louis Browns, Ted Breitenstein of the St. Louis Browns, and Tyler Gilbert of the Arizona Diamondbacks have managed to join Jones as pitchers to throw no-hitters in their first major league start, but they had previously appeared in a relief role. According to sabermetrician

Bill James George William James (born October 5, 1949) is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books about baseball history and statistics. His a ...

, Jones edges out Holloman for the distinction of mathematically least likely pitcher ever to have thrown a no-hitter in the major leagues. In a two-season major league career, Jones posted a 2–4 career record with 10

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s and a 7.99 ERA in

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

of labor. After leaving the major leagues, Jones continued to pitch professionally. Jones pitched for the Grand Rapids Rippers and Sioux City Cornhuskers in 1894. He pitched for the Columbus Senators from 1896 to 1899, and until recently was credited with the team record for career games pitched, with 212. Modern research, however, indicates that the actual total may be closer to 150.Bean ties uncertain record
, Craig Merz, The Columbus Dispatch, published August 16, 2006, accessed August 16, 2006. Jones finished his minor league career with the St. Paul Saints in 1901.

Death

Jones died in

Xenia, Ohio Xenia ( ) is a city in Greene County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in southwestern Ohio, it is east of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton and is part of the Greater Dayton, Dayton metropolitan area as well as the Miami Valley region. As o ...

, at age 68 from complications of a stroke, and he was laid to rest at North Cemetery in

References

External links

Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Bumpus 1870 births 1938 deaths People from Cedarville, Ohio Sportspeople from Greene County, Ohio Cincinnati Reds players New York Giants (baseball) players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Ohio 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Aurora (minor league baseball) players Monmouth (minor league baseball) players Aurora Maroons players Quincy Ravens players Portland Gladiators players Ottumwa Coal Palaces players Joliet Convicts players Aurora Indians players Atlanta Firecrackers players Providence Clamdiggers (baseball) players Sioux City Cornhuskers players Grand Rapids Rippers players Grand Rapids Gold Bugs players Columbus Buckeyes (minor league) players Columbus Senators players Grand Rapids Furniture Makers players Cleveland Lake Shores players Fort Wayne Indians players Wheeling Stogies players St. Paul Saints (Western League) players

Early life

Baseball career

Death

See also

References

External links