George Zettlein (July 12, 1844 – May 22, 1905) was an American

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

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, ...

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

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 ...

. He played six 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 ...

from 1871 to 1876 for the Chicago White Stockings, Troy Haymakers,

Brooklyn Eckfords Eckford of Brooklyn, or simply Eckford, was an American baseball club from 1855 to 1872. When the Union Grounds opened on May 15, 1862 for baseball in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, it became the first enclosed baseball grounds in America. Three clubs c ...

Philadelphia White Stockings The Philadelphia White Stockings were an early professional baseball team. They were a member of the National Association from 1873 to 1875. Their home games were played at the Jefferson Street Grounds. They were managed by Fergy Malone, Jimm ...

of the National Association (NA), and the

Philadelphia Athletics (1860–1876) The Philadelphia Athletics, also known as the Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia, was a prominent National Association, and later National League, professional baseball team that played in the second half of the 19th century. Founding and ...

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 ...

."George Zettlein Stats"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2022. Zeittlein served in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, in both the Army and Navy. He began playing baseball in 1865 for Eckford of Brooklyn in the

National Association of Base Ball Players The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was the first organization governing American baseball (spelled as two words in the 19th century). The first convention of 16 New York City area clubs was held at Smith's Hotel, 462 Broome ...

, the amateur-only predecessor to the NA. He joined the

Brooklyn Atlantics The Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn ("Atlantic" or the "Brooklyn Atlantics") was baseball's first champion and its first dynasty. The team was also the first baseball club to visit the White House in 1865 at the invitation of President An ...

in 1866, and remained with the team until 1870. In 1871, Zettlein joined the professional White Stockings of the NA, and in May 1871 he gave up the new league's first

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 ( ...

. He gave up the league's first grand slam in September. He had a record of 18–9 with a league-leading 2.73

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 ...

that year. The following season, Zettlein played for the Troy Haymakers and

, combining for 15 wins and 16 losses between the two teams. He won 36 games for the

in 1873, then returned to the Chicago White Stockings for two seasons. Partway through the 1875 season, Zettlein rejoined the Philadelphia White Stockings, and ended his career in 1876 with the Philadelphia Athletics. He finished his major league career with 129 wins, 112 losses, and a 2.55 ERA. Zettlein had an overpowering

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

and was regarded as one of the best pitchers of his era.McNeil, William F. (2006). ''The Evolution of Pitching in Major League Baseball''. pp. 22–26.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zettlein, George 1844 births 1905 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Brooklyn Eckfords (NABBP) players Brooklyn Atlantics (NABBP) players Chicago White Stockings players Philadelphia Athletics (NL) players Troy Haymakers players Brooklyn Eckfords players Philadelphia White Stockings players People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn Baseball players from Brooklyn Burials at the Cemetery of the Evergreens

See also

References

External links