Joseph Aloysius Corbett (December 4, 1875 – May 2, 1945) was an American

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 ...

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

who played in 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 was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Corbett, the younger brother of World Heavyweight Boxing Champion

James J. Corbett James John Corbett (September 1, 1866 – February 18, 1933) was an Americans, American professional Boxing, boxer and a World Heavyweight Champion, best known as the only man who ever defeated John L. Sullivan (hence the "man who beat the man" ...

, played baseball at

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 ...

from 1890 to 1893 before breaking into the major leagues in 1895. He went 3–0 with a 2.20

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 ...

for 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 ...

in 1896 and then won two games in the

Temple Cup The Temple Cup was a cup awarded to the winner of an annual best-of-seven postseason championship series for American professional baseball from 1894 to 1897. Competing teams were exclusively from the National League, which had been founded in ...

series. He had his best season in 1897 when he posted career-highs in wins (24), strikeouts (149), ERA (3.11), starts (37),

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 (34) and innings pitched (313.0). However, Corbett had gotten angry over a dispute with manager Ned Hanlon, and he refused to report to the team the following season. Hanlon welched on a bet and refused to buy Corbett a new suit for winning 20 games. For the next five years, Corbett was a sportswriter for the ''

San Francisco Call ''The San Francisco Call'' was a newspaper that served San Francisco, California. Because of a succession of mergers with other newspapers, the paper variously came to be called ''The San Francisco Call & Post'', the ''San Francisco Call-Bulleti ...

'' and pitched semi-professional ball. He signed with the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

in 1903. It was the league's inaugural season, and the Angels won the pennant by 27.5 games. Corbett went 23–16, 2.36, led the PCL in strikeouts (196), and tied for the lead in shutouts (8). He also hit .336 in 262 at-bats. Corbett went back to the majors in 1904 with 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 ...

, where went 5–8, 4.39. Arm trouble developed because of

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including a ...

and he was released in August. He then joined the PCL's San Francisco Seals and went 14–10 with a 1.86 ERA during the rest of the season."Joe Corbett Minor League Statistics & History"
'' Baseball-Reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-10-16. He also pitched for the Seals in 1905 and then retired except for a brief comeback attempt in 1909. He later coached baseball at

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

. Corbett died in San Francisco aged 69. He was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in

Colma, California Colma (Ohlone for "Springs") is a small incorporated List of municipalities in California, town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 U ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbett, Joe 1875 births 1945 deaths 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Baltimore Orioles (NL) players Baseball players from San Francisco Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery (Colma, California) Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Saint Mary's Gaels baseball players St. Louis Cardinals players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Piedmont (minor league baseball) players Petaluma Poison Oaks players Toronto Canucks players Scranton Coal Heavers players Imperials of San Francisco players Norfolk Braves players Scranton Miners players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Stockton Millers players San Jose Prune Pickers players