Dutch Leonard (left-handed Pitcher)
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Hubert Benjamin "Dutch" Leonard, (April 16, 1892 – July 11, 1952) was an American left-handed
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, ...
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 ...
who had an 11-year career from 1913 to 1921, and 1924 to 1925. He played for the
Boston Red Sox 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
and
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 ...
and holds both the American League record and the major league modern-era record for the lowest single-season
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 ...
of all time — 0.96 in 1914. He is not to be confused with Emil "Dutch" Leonard, a right-handed pitcher who pitched in the major leagues between 1933 and 1953.


Early years

Born in Birmingham, Ohio, Leonard played baseball for
Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic college in Moraga, California, United States. Established in 1863, it is administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college offers undergraduate and graduate programs w ...
, then located in
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
, from 1910 to 1911. In 1912, he played for the Denver Grizzlies of the Western League, where he compiled a 22–9 record with 326
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 an
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 ...
of 2.50.


Boston Red Sox

Leonard debuted with the
Boston Red Sox 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
in 1913. He had a breakout season in his second year in the major leagues, , leading the American League with a remarkable 0.96
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 ...
– the
MLB 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 ...
record for single-season ERA when not counting Tim Keefe's record of 0.86 in his first MLB season, since it was only in 105 innings pitched. (The lowest ERA since then is
Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (November 9, 1935October 2, 2020), nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot", was an American baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1959 to 1975. Known for his fiercely competi ...
's 1.12 in 1968.) Leonard also pitched well in Boston's 1915 and 1916 World Series victories. He won Game 3 of the 1915 World Series, outduelling the Phillies' Grover Cleveland Alexander 2–1. He also won Game 4 of the 1916 World Series against the Brooklyn Robins. Leonard also pitched two
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 ...
s for the Red Sox, the first in 1916 against the St. Louis Browns and the second in 1918 against 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 ...
.


Detroit Tigers

In January 1919, the Red Sox sold Leonard to 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 ...
, where Leonard played from 1919 to 1921 and 1924–1925. Leonard became embroiled in a salary dispute with Tigers' owner
Frank Navin Francis Joseph Navin (April 18, 1871 – November 13, 1935) was an American businessman and baseball executive who was the president of the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball for 27 years, from 1908 to 1935. He was part-owner from 1908 to ...
in 1922, and Leonard opted to play for
Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
, in the San Joaquin Valley League in 1922 and 1923. Leonard was suspended by the American League for his actions, but he rejoined the Tigers in 1924 where he feuded with Tigers manager
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 ...
. Leonard pitched in his final major league game on July 19, 1925.


Dutch Leonard and Ty Cobb

Even before their player-manager feud, Leonard and Cobb had a history. In 1914, Leonard hit Cobb in the ribs with a fastball. In the next at bat, Cobb dragged a bunt which the Red Sox first baseman was forced to field; as Leonard's foot landed on the bag, Cobb's foot, spikes and all, landed on Leonard's, drawing blood. A full feud broke when Cobb took over as the Tigers' manager in 1921. Cobb took pleasure in fining Leonard, who enjoyed late nights, for violating curfew. At one point in the 1921 season, Leonard was 11–13, despite a respectable ERA; Cobb left his office door open so that Leonard could hear him on the phone, faking a call: "I'm putting that damned Dutchman on waivers." In 1922, Leonard and Cobb fought over how to pitch to
George Sisler George Harold Sisler (March 24, 1893 – March 26, 1973), nicknamed "Gorgeous George", was an American professional baseball first baseman and player-manager. From 1915 through 1930, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the History of t ...
and
Tris Speaker Tristram Edgar Speaker (April 4, 1888 – December 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Gray Eagle", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1907 to 1928. Considered one o ...
. Leonard cursed Cobb to his face during the dispute, and Leonard ended up quitting the team in 1921, calling Cobb a "horse's ass." When Leonard returned to the Tigers in 1924 after two seasons in the San Joaquin Valley League, the feud with Cobb resumed. By the middle of the 1925 season, Leonard was 11–3, but that did not stop Cobb from accusing Leonard of being a shirker. In front of the team, Cobb berated Leonard: "Don't you dare turn
bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
on me. I'm the boss here." Leonard accused Cobb of over-working him, and Cobb responded in July 1925 by leaving Leonard on the mound for an entire game despite Leonard's giving up 20 hits and taking a 12–4 beating. After that, Leonard refused to pitch for Cobb. As a result, the Tigers put Leonard on waivers, and when no team picked him up, his baseball career came to an end. Rumors began to spread that Leonard was claiming he "had something" on Cobb. Leonard was quoted as saying, "I am going to expose that bastard Cobb, I'll ruin him." And in 1926, Leonard sought his revenge, contacting 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 ...
and accusing Cobb of being involved in gambling and/or fixing games with Tris Speaker. Leonard claimed that Speaker and Cobb had conspired before a 1919 Tigers–Indians game to allow the Tigers to win, enabling the team to reach third place and qualify for World Series money. To corroborate his story, Leonard produced letters written at the time (one by Cobb and one by Smoky Joe Wood) that obliquely referred to gambling or game-fixing. When Johnson made Leonard's letter public in December 1926, it started a scandal. Cobb was called to testify at a hearing before Commissioner
Kenesaw Mountain Landis Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball, commissioner of baseball from 1920 until his death. ...
, and denied Leonard's allegations. Cobb noted that Leonard "had the reputation in the past of being a bolshevik on the club." Leonard declined to appear and testify at the hearing, saying he feared a physical attack from "that wild man." In the absence of Leonard's testimony, Landis found Cobb and Speaker not guilty.


Career outside baseball

Leonard did well for himself after baseball. He became a very successful California fruit farmer and wine maker. He was also an expert left-handed golfer. Leonard died in 1952 at age 60 from complications of a
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
. He is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in
Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
. His estate at the time of his death was reportedly worth $2.1 million ($ in 2021). When Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps in 1942 by Executive Order 9066, most lost their homes and businesses forever. Dutch Leonard, however, promised to manage the farm of an interned Japanese American farmer. When the war ended, the farmer returned to his land and Dutch gave him $20,000 in profits accumulated over the intervening years. Dutch came through with his promise - a rarity in a time when Japanese Americans' businesses, farms, land and homes were typically pilfered or stolen.


Notes


See also

*
List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders In baseball, earned run average (ERA) is a statistic used to evaluate pitchers, calculated as the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. A pitcher is men by a baserunner who reached base while batting against that pitc ...
*
List of Major League Baseball no-hitters Below is a list of Major League Baseball no-hitters, enumerating every no-hitter pitched in Major League Baseball history. The list also includes no-hit games that were broken up in extra innings or were in shortened games, although they have no ...


Sources

* * Jones, David (2006). "''Hubert Benjamin 'Dutch' Leonard''", in ''Deadball Stars of the American League'',
SABR Sabr () (literally 'endurance' or more accurately 'perseverance' and 'persistence'"Ṣabr", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'') is one of the two parts of Iman (concept), faith (the other being ''shukr'') in Islam. It teaches to remain Spirituality, sp ...
, Potomac Books. * Stump, Al (1994). ''Cobb: The Life and Times of the Meanest Man Who Ever Played Baseball''. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Dutch 1892 births 1952 deaths American League ERA champions Baseball players from Ohio Boston Red Sox players Denver Grizzlies (baseball) players Detroit Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Guernsey County, Ohio Saint Mary's Gaels baseball players 20th-century American sportsmen