Frank Henry Mountain (May 17, 1860 – November 19, 1939) was an American

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 ...

player from 1880 to 1886. He played seven seasons 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 ...

, principally as a

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, ...

(143 games),

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

(36 games) and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

(18 games). He played for six different major league clubs and saw his most extensive playing time with the Columbus Buckeyes of the American Association, appearing in 128 games for that club during the 1883 and 1884 seasons. Over the course of seven major league seasons, Mountain compiled a 58-83 (.411)

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

and a 3.47

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 ...

(ERA). He had his best season in 1884, pitching 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 ...

and compiling a 23-17 record with a 2.45 ERA.

Early years

Mountain was born in

Fort Edward, New York Fort Edward is a town and the county seat of Washington County, New York, United States. The population was 5,991 at the 2020 census. The municipal center complex is on U.S. Route 4 between the villages of Hudson Falls and Fort Edward.

, in 1860. His parents were immigrants from Ireland. His father, David Mountain, was a carpenter from

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

. His mother, Elizabeth, was from

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. Mountain attended

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

, although he did not graduate. He played

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

on the Union College baseball team in 1880.

Professional baseball career

1880 to 1882 seasons

Mountain began his professional baseball career in July 1880 with the

Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's Division I (NCAA), Division I-A in 2001 in sports, 2001, became a American football, football only member of the ...

of the

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 ...

. He appeared in only two games for the Trojans and compiled a 1-1 record and 5.29 ERA. In 1881, Mountain played for the

Detroit Wolverines The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant (and winning the ...

of the National League in the club's inaugural season. He appeared in seven games for the team, all

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, and compiled a 3-4 record and a 5.25 ERA. He pitched and won both games of a double-header for Detroit in 1881. Mountain divided his playing time during the 1882 season between the

Worcester Worcesters The Worcester Worcesters were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team from 1880 to 1882 in the National League. The team is referred to, at times, as the Brown Stockings or the Ruby Legs; however, no contemporary sources from the time exist t ...

of the National League (18 games) and the

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 ...

of the American Association (8 games). He compiled a 4-22 (.154) record and a 3.76 ERA with the two clubs in 1882.

Columbus

In 1883, Mountain joined the Columbus Buckeyes of the American Association. He appeared in 128 games, 101 as a pitcher and 29 as an outfielder, for the Buckeyes during the 1883 and 1884 seasons. Mountain appeared in a career high 59 games as pitcher in 1883. He started all 59 games and threw 57

s, four

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 ...

s and 503

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 compiled a 26-33 record and led the American Association that season in losses (33), hits allowed (546), earned runs allowed (201), and bases on balls allowed (123). Mountain's best season was 1884 when he won 23 games, lost 17, pitched 40 complete games, and had a 2.45 ERA for Columbus. His ERA was fifth best in the American Association, and his five shutouts placed him fourth. On June 5 of that season he pitched a

against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

, winning 12–0.

Pittsburgh

After the 1884 season, Mountain, along with the entire Columbus team, was sold to the

Pittsburgh Alleghenys The following is a history of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. Franchise beginnings (1870s–1899) Early baseball in Pittsburgh and the American Association An early mention of "base ball" in the region is found in an issue of t ...

. However, an injury prevented Mountain from appearing in more than five games in 1885, and he compiled a 1-4 record and 4.30 ERA. In August 1885, the Alleghenys "indefinitely laid off" Mountain until he could again pitch "in his old form." In November 1885, ''The Sporting Life'' noted that Mountain's "disability" was "a terrible disappointment to the club", rendering him unable to bat effectively despite having been a strong batter in 1884. Mountain's batting average dropped from .238 in 1883 to .100 in 1884. One account reported that Mountain's arm was damaged by a "drop ball" pitch which was thrown in a motion bringing the arm above the head and then releasing the ball with a "sharp downward snap of the wrist." Mountain returned to Pittsburgh in 1886. His arm was reported to have recovered, but he injured his ankle in June. He was limited to two games as pitcher and lost both games with a 7.88 ERA. He also appeared in 16 games as a first baseman in 1886 and compiled a .319

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

in 69 plate appearances. He appeared in his final major league game on August 17, 1886. The following week, a newspaper account reported that his career as pitcher was over, a tryout with Pittsburgh having "proved a jonah."

Toledo

Starting in May 1888, Mountain served as a minor league manager for the

Toledo Maumees The Toledo Maumees were a baseball team originally formed in 1888. The team was based in Toledo, Ohio, and formed part of the Tri-State League for one season. Their home games were played at Speranza Park in Toledo. In 1889, the Maumees moved to ...

of the

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second league ...

. As manager, he "blacklisted several players, who went on a strike, and there was a popular howl against him." He was released as manager in July 1888.

Career statistics

During his seven seasons in the major leagues, Mountain appeared in 194 games (143 as a pitcher). He started 142 games, threw 141

s and nine

s, and compiled a 58–83 win-loss record with a 3.47 ERA. As a batter, he compiled a .220

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 is ...

with nine

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 84

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

Family and later years

Mountain was married to Sarah Mountain. They had five children: Martin (born 1888), Jennie (born 1890), Rose (born 1894), Raymond (born 1898) and Hugh (born c. 1905).1900 U.S. Census entry for Frank Mountain, born May 1860 in New York, both parents born in Ireland, employed as "engineer Edison." Census Place: Schenectady Ward 3, Schenectady, New York; Roll: 1160; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0130; FHL microfilm: 1241160. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census atabase on-line1920 U.S. Census entry for Frank Mountain, age 58, born in New York, both parents born in Ireland, employed as "assistant chief" of "factory fire department" Census Place: Schenectady Ward 1, Schenectady, New York; Roll: T625_1262; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 127; Image: 687. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census atabase on-line1930 U.S. Census entry for Frank Mountain, age 68, born in New York, both parents born in North Ireland, employed as fireman for "electrical co." Census Place: Schenectady, Schenectady, New York; Roll: 1646; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0072; Image: 565.0; FHL microfilm: 2341380. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census atabase on-line In approximately 1895, Mountain became a clerk for

General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and Arms industry, defence electronics, communications, and engineering. It was originally founded in 1886 as G. Binswanger and Company as an e ...

. He worked for General Electric for nearly 40 years, serving for many years as the assistant chief of the factory fire department. He retired in 1931. Mountain died at his home in Schenectady in 1939 at age 79. He was buried at the Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery in Schenectady.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mountain, Frank 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Washington County, New York Troy Trojans (NL) players Detroit Wolverines players Worcester Worcesters players Philadelphia Athletics (AA) players Columbus Buckeyes players Pittsburgh Alleghenys (AA) players Union Garnet Chargers baseball players 1860 births 1939 deaths People from Fort Edward, New York