Earl Coleman Francis (July 14, 1935 – July 3, 2002) was an American professional

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player. A

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, he appeared in 103

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, 52 of them as a starter, in

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between 1960 and 1965. The native of

Slab Fork, West Virginia Slab Fork is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Raleigh County, West Virginia, Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States with a population of 202. Slab Fork is located along a Slab Fork, stream of the same name and County Route ...

, stood and weighed . Francis signed with 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 ...

in 1954, and after one season in Class D, he did a four-year hitch in the

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Gregory H. Wolf, ''Earl Francis.''

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Biography Project before returning to the Pirates' system in 1959. He pitched all or parts of three years in Triple-A, coming to the majors in for a seven-game mid-season trial for the eventual world champions. He started in Triple-A, then was recalled to Pittsburgh in June to begin a 2-year run in the big leagues. His most productive season was . Francis set personal bests in games pitched (36), games won (nine),

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 ...

(3.07) and

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—pitche ...

s (five). He also threw his only MLB

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, a three-hitter August 25 against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. He was the Pirates' Opening Day starting pitcher in in the traditional

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inaugural at

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on April 8. Francis dropped that contest, 5–2.

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br>box score: 1963-04-08
/ref> During the course of the year, he saw his ERA climb to 4.53 and was only 2–6 in starting roles. He spent most of in Triple-A, then he was traded to the Cardinals during the off-season. In , the Redbirds kept Francis in the minors except for two late-season appearances in

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

. He toiled one more season at the Triple-A level in 1966 before leaving baseball. In the majors, Francis won 16 of 39 decisions ( .410) in 103 games and 405

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. He allowed 398 hits and 181 bases on balls,

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263. After retiring from the field, he lived and worked in

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until his death at age 66.

References

External links

1935 births 2002 deaths African-American baseball players Baseball players from West Virginia Burials at Homewood Cemetery Clinton Pirates players Columbus Jets players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Suns players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Slab Fork, West Virginia Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Cardinals players Salt Lake City Bees players Seattle Angels players 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen Sportspeople from Raleigh County, West Virginia 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1930s-stub