Curtis Benton Davis (September 7, 1903 – October 12, 1965) 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 (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, who attempts to e ...

. Even though he did not reach the big leagues until he was 30, the right-hander was a two-time

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 ...

All-Star over a 13-year career spread among the

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

(1934–1936),

Chicago Cubs 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 locate ...

(1936–1937), St. Louis Cardinals (1938–1940), and

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californ ...

(1940–1946). The Greenfield, Missouri, native had quite a list of accomplishments, including winning 19 games as a

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 ...

, 22 games in 1939, eleven double-digit victory seasons, and pitching in the

1941 World Series The 1941 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning in five games to capture their fifth title in six years, and their ninth overall. The name " Subway Series" arose for a World Series play ...

. He had excellent control, leading the NL in

BB/9IP In baseball statistics, bases on balls per nine innings pitched (BB/9IP or BB/9) or walks per nine innings (denoted by W/9) is the average number of bases on balls, (or walks) given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by ...

in 1938 and 1941, and finishing in the top ten in the league ten times.

Career

Nicknamed "Coonskin”, Davis began his career in

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

in 1928 at the age of 24 with the Salt Lake City Bees of the Class C Utah–Idaho League, and promptly won 16 of 30 decisions. The following year, he jumped all the way to the top minor-league level as a member of the San Francisco Seals of 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 level, which is one grade below Major League Bas ...

. In five seasons in San Francisco, he won 90 games and lost 77. Then he was selected on October 2, 1933, by the Phillies in that year's Rule 5 draft. As a

in , he won 19 games (losing 17) for a Phillies club that won only 56 of 149 games—accounting for 34 percent of the club's victories. The following year, he went 16–14 for another futile Phillies team. His fortunes improved when, in May 1936, he was acquired by the first-division Cubs, for whom he went 21–14 in 52 games over a season and a half and made the All-Star team. Appearing in that season's Midsummer Classic, played at

Braves Field Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, Davis entered the contest in the seventh

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

with his side ahead, 4–0. But he gave up 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 is ...

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned f ...

, the first batter he faced, and singles to

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball ...

Goose Goslin Leon Allen "Goose" Goslin (October 16, 1900 – May 15, 1971) was an American professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns, and Detroit Tigers, from until . Goslin ...

Jimmie Foxx James Emory Foxx (October 22, 1907 – July 21, 1967), nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red ...

and

Luke Appling Lucius Benjamin "Luke" Appling (April 2, 1907 – January 3, 1991), nicknamed "Old Aches and Pains" was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Chicago White Sox (1930–1950). He was elected to the Base ...

; he retired two other Hall of Famers,

Earl Averill Howard Earl Averill (May 21, 1902 – August 16, 1983) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1929 to 1941, including 11 seasons for the Cleveland Indians. He was a six-tim ...

and

Bill Dickey William Malcolm Dickey (June 6, 1907 – November 12, 1993) was an American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees for 19 seasons. Dickey managed the Yankees as a player-manager in ...

, but had to be relieved by Lonnie Warneke with the National League margin cut to only one

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop grou ...

. Warneke nailed down the save, however, and the NL hung on to win, 4–3. On April 16, 1938, he was one of the Cubs' players who were involved in the trade that brought future Hall of Fame pitcher

Dizzy Dean Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean (January 16, 1910 – July 17, 1974), also known as Jerome Herman Dean (both the 1910 and 1920 Censuses show his name as "Jay"), was an American professional baseball pitcher. During his Major League Baseball (MLB) caree ...

from the Cardinals; the Cubs won the

pennant, but Davis would enjoy a stellar campaign as in St. Louis, going 22–16 (3.63) and finishing third in the Senior Circuit in

wins WINS may refer to: *WINS (AM), an all-news radio station in New York City *WINS-FM, a radio station in New York City *World Institute for Nuclear Security *Windows Internet Name Service *WINS (solution stack), a set of software subsystems *Wireles ...

and saves and fifth in

shutouts 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 ...

. He made the NL All-Star squad for a second time. Then, the following year, on June 12, 1940, he was traded to Brooklyn with future Hall of Fame slugger Joe Medwick for four players and $125,000, in one of the highest-profile transactions of the baseball season. He won 13 games in as the Dodgers captured their first pennant since 1920. Then he started Game 1 of the 1941 World Series against the

New York Yankees 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 ...

, surrendering six hits and three

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

s in 5

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 ...

. He was charged with the 3–2 Brooklyn defeat in what would be his only World Series appearance. In , Davis almost pitched the Dodgers to their second successive National League title. He won 15 of 21 decisions, posted a 2.36

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 ...

, third in the NL, and led the Brooklyn staff with five shutouts. But the Cardinals overcame the Dodgers in a furious pennant race, and Davis' club finished out of the postseason. He remained a Dodger throughout the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

era, winning ten games during each of the – seasons. After pitching one game in (on April 28), he was released by Brooklyn three days later. Career totals for his 429

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), b ...

include a 158–131 record, 281

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 list ...

, 141

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—pit ...

s, 24 shutouts, 111

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is the ...

, 33 saves, and an ERA of 3.42 in 2,325

. Other top ten rankings for Davis include

(four times),

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 ...

(four times), ERA (four times), H/9IP (three times),

WHIP A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

(five times),

(five times), saves (five times),

(once), and oldest player (five times). An excellent hitter for a pitcher, Davis had a .203 career

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 i ...

(165-813) with 70 runs, 11

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 is ...

and 81

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

. He hit .300 (12-40) with the Cubs in 1937 and .381 (40-105) with 17 RBI with the Cardinals in 1939. Davis died at the age of 62 in

Covina, California Covina is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles, in the San Gabriel Valley. The population was 51,268 according to the 2020 census, up from 47,796 at the 2010 census. The city's slogan, " ...

References

External links

The Deadball Era
* : {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Curt 1903 births 1965 deaths Baseball players from Missouri Brooklyn Dodgers players Chicago Cubs players Major League Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball managers Montreal Royals players National League All-Stars People from Greenfield, Missouri Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Paul Saints (AA) managers St. Paul Saints (AA) players Salt Lake City Bees players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players