Ensign Stover Cottrell (August 29, 1888 – February 27, 1947) was an American professional

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 ...

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who played 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 ...

from 1911 to 1915 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 ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

, and

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 ...

Early life and college career

Cottrell was born in

Hoosick Falls, New York Hoosick Falls is a village in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 3,501 at the 2010 census. During its peak, in 1900, the village had a population of approximately 7,000. The village of Hoosick Falls is near the center ...

, the son of William Cottrell and Lottie Worthington Cottrell. He graduated from Hoosick Falls High School before moving on to

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

in 1907, where he played on the

baseball team Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play beginning when a player on the fielding team, called ...

for three years. He served as the team's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

his senior year, and 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 final collegiate game against Columbia on June 13, 1911. He also earned a degree in civil engineering.

Professional career

Cottrell, a left-handed pitcher, was recommended to

scout

Howard Earl Howard J. Earl (February 25, 1869 – December 23, 1916), nicknamed "Slim Jim", was a Major League Baseball outfielder. He played two seasons in the majors, a full season in for the Chicago Colts, and then for the Milwaukee Brewers, who were a ...

, and after pitcher

Deacon Phillippe Charles Louis "Deacon" Phillippe (originally Phillippi) (May 23, 1872 – March 30, 1952) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Louisville Colonels and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Biography Born in Rural Retreat, Virginia ...

and scout Billy Murray saw him play, he was signed by Pittsburgh on June 10, 1911, after drawing interest from multiple major league teams, including 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 ...

. He made his

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

debut with the Pirates on June 21 against the

, entering in the seventh inning with Pittsburgh trailing 7–1. He allowed four hits and four

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 erro ...

s, with the Pirates ultimately losing 14–1. Pittsburgh released Cottrell in late August, having only pitched in one game, after club management felt he was not experienced enough to stay with the team. After his release, Cottrell joined the

Scranton Miners The Scranton Miners, known as the Scranton Apollos from 1970 to 1977, were a professional basketball team based in Scranton, Pennsylvania that was a member of the American Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association. Arthur Pachter ...

of the

New York State League The New York State League was an independent baseball league that played six seasons between 2007 and 2012 in New York State and the New York City metro area. Over 500 NYSL players have been signed by professional teams. Players from forty-eigh ...

for the remainder of 1911, and resigned with the club for 1912. During the 1912 season, he was

claimed "Claimed" is the eleventh episode of the The Walking Dead season 4, fourth season of the Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Horror fiction, horror television series ''The Walking Dead (TV series), The Walking Dead'', wh ...

by both the Washington Senators and

, with the Cubs earning the rights to his contract. He made what would be his only appearance with Chicago in the second game of a doubleheader against the

on September 27, 1912. Cottrell entered the game in the fourth inning and allowed four earned runs, as the Cubs lost 10–3. He recorded his first major league

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 ...

in the outing, his sole appearance for Chicago. In November 1912, the

put in a waiver claim on Cottrell, after he was mistakenly included on a list of players the Cubs had waived. He was signed by Philadelphia in January 1913. He would only appear in two games all season, pitching 1.0 inning on April 23 against the

, and throwing a

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 ...

on June 5 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 ...

, winning 10–6. He also hit a bases loaded

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

in the sixth inning, driving in three runs in what would be his only major league

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. On June 17, he was sold to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

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 ...

. He finished the year with a 14-8

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in 32 games with Baltimore. He remained with the Orioles for the start of the 1914 season, going 13–7 with a 2.40

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 ...

in 26 games, before he was sold to the

on July 28. Cottrell would appear in only one game with Boston, earning the start against the Pirates on August 7. He threw just 1.2 innings, allowed two hits and two runs, one of which was earned, and walked three batters as the losing pitcher in the 5–1 loss to Pittsburgh. Though Boston would ultimately win the

1914 World Series The 1914 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's 1914 Major League Baseball season, 1914 season. The 11th edition of the World Series, it was played between the American League champion and defending Wor ...

against the Athletics, Cottrell would only receive $500 of the winner's share, as both he

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yankees. First known ...

, who also only appeared in one game all season, were denied full shares by the rest of the team. In April 1915, he was placed on waivers by Boston due to a limit of 21-players per roster and sold to the

after all other National League clubs passed on him. Cottrell made his Yankees debut on May 27 against the

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 ...

, pitching 6.1 innings in relief while allowing two earned runs in an 8–2 loss. After pitching in three games in June and three more in July, Cottrell was waived to the

Richmond Climbers The city of Baltimore, Maryland, has been home to two Minor League Baseball teams called the Baltimore Orioles, in addition to the three Major League Baseball teams that have used the name (the first of which played in the American Association ...

. He finished the 1915 season with a 7–11 record in 20 games for Richmond.

Post-playing career

Cottrell's rights were sold back to the Yankees, but he retired in 1916 to pursue an

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

degree from

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

. In August 1917, he married Evelyn Taylor and had three children. After his retirement from professional baseball, he pitched for an industrial team in

Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...

in 1918. Cottrell later operated an engineering and surveying business in Syracuse. He died on February 27, 1947, in Syracuse of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cottrell, Ensign 1888 births 1947 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Syracuse, New York New York Yankees players Pittsburgh Pirates players Chicago Cubs players Philadelphia Athletics players 20th-century American sportsmen Boston Braves players Syracuse Orangemen baseball players Scranton Miners players Baltimore Orioles (International League) players Richmond Climbers players People from Hoosick Falls, New York Sportspeople from Rensselaer County, New York Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Syracuse, New York)