Ned Garvin
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Virgil Lee GarvinGarvin is known as Ned in most modern references, but sources frequently used his given name during his playing career. (January 1, 1874 – June 16, 1908), nicknamed "the Navasota Tarantula", was an American
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, ...
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 ...
(MLB). He pitched in 181 games with six teams from 1896 to 1904. Garvin was known for his bad luck as a pitcher; he had a strong career
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) of 2.72, but his
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 ...
(57–97) suffered because he played on poorly performing teams.Some sources list a major league career record of 57–98. He was known for throwing a pitch that made an atypical curve as it approached the batter. Off the field, Garvin was prone to fighting and excessive drinking, and Garvin's behavior led to the end of his MLB career in 1904. Over the course of his career, he was implicated in the assaults of a team traveling secretary and an insurance salesman, the shooting of a saloonkeeper and the attempted murder of a black man at a barber shop. Garvin died of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
less than four years after his last major league appearance.


Early life

Garvin was born in
Navasota, Texas Navasota is a city primarily in Grimes County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,643 at the 2020 census. In 2005, the Texas Legislature designated Navasota as the "Blues Capital of Texas" in honor of the late Mance Lipscomb, a Nava ...
. He entered professional baseball in 1895 with a
Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
team in
Sherman, Texas Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's population in 2020 was 43,645. It is one of the two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison metropolitan area, Sherman–Denison metropolitan statist ...
. After playing for part of the next year with a minor league team in
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
, Garvin made his major league debut with the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
in 1896. He returned to the minor leagues with a team in
Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...
, where he played in 1897 and 1898. Near the beginning of the 20th century, Garvin developed an unusual pitch that curved in the opposite direction of the typical curveball thrown by a right-handed pitcher. Garvin's long fingers allowed him to hold the ball with a unique grip. Sportswriter
Hugh Fullerton Hugh Stuart Fullerton III (10 September 1873 – 27 December 1945) was an American sportswriter in the first half of the 20th century. He was one of the founders of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He is best remembered for his role ...
described the pitch, writing that "the ball appeared to be moving with great speed. As it came near the batter the ball seemed to hesitate in the air and then suddenly curve down and in, just as a left hander's slow curve does. The ball was a freak. Garvin did not understand its full worth and it remained for itcher Christy Mathewson">Christy_Mathewson.html" ;"title="itcher Christy Mathewson">itcher Christy Mathewsonto develop and use it intelligently." Some sources credit Garvin with teaching star pitcher Mathewson about his signature pitch. Mathewson became well known for a related pitch known as the fadeaway, and a similar pitch known as a screwball exists in modern baseball. However, baseball authors Rob Neyer and Bill James credit a minor leaguer named Dave Williams with showing the fadeaway to Mathewson. Early in his career, Garvin showed a tendency to drink heavily and to enter into violent confrontations. "It wasn’t a high-paying job and not a particularly highly looked-upon job, at the time. Not many baseball players were considered particularly good guys; they didn’t have a very good reputation in the country. But Virgil was especially bad," said baseball author Kris Rutherford. The lanky pitcher was known as "The Navasota Tarantula". In 1900, he shot at a black man who he said had refused to shine his shoes. In the ensuing attempted murder trial, shoeshine James Harrison testified that Garvin had entered the barber shop where he was working and asked Harrison if he knew "what they did with negroes in Texas". Harrison was able to flee through a door. Garvin began to fire gunshots, and one bullet lodged in the door through which Harrison had fled. The next year Garvin knifed a man during a barroom fight. Garvin once attempted to use his propensity for fighting in a sanctioned activity, challenging championship boxer
Terry McGovern Terry McGovern may refer to: *Terry McGovern (boxer) (1880–1918), American boxer who held the world bantamweight and featherweight titles *Terry McGovern (actor) (born 1942), American film actor, television broadcaster, radio personality, voice-o ...
to a bout. In 1900, teammate
Clark Griffith Clark Calvin Griffith (November 20, 1869 – October 27, 1955, ), nicknamed "the Old Fox", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, manager and team owner. He began his MLB playing career with the St. Louis Browns (1891), Boston Re ...
was said to be willing to bet $1,000 that McGovern could not knock Garvin out within six rounds. Griffith said that Garvin weighed 140 pounds. Though McGovern was a foot shorter than the 6'3" pitcher and weighed 122 pounds, Griffith said that it would still be a fair fight if the inexperienced Garvin could get his pre-fight weight down to 135 pounds. Griffith put up a $500 wager on the matter, but the fight never came to fruition.


Middle career

After spending two seasons with the Chicago Orphans, Garvin was traded to the
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 ...
in early 1901. Just days after the trade, he had an altercation with
Brooklyn Superbas The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brookl ...
infielder Tom Daly. The Brooklyn infielder insulted Garvin's playing ability and told him to return to Texas. Garvin knocked Daly to the ground, then placed a beer glass on Daly's face and stomped on it. Garvin was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and held on $300 bond. That year the fledgling
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
(AL) made a serious attempt to recruit players from NL teams. Before the 1901 season started, Garvin jumped to the AL's
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
. Garvin signed with the Chicago White Stockings in January 1902. Garvin returned to Chicago with a history of bad luck on the field. With the Orphans in 1899, his 2.85 ERA led to only a 9–13 win–loss record. The next year, his ERA fell to 2.41, more than 1.2 runs better than the league average, but he earned a 10–18 record. For the 1901 Milwaukee Brewers, his ERA was higher (3.46) but still better than the league average (3.66), and Garvin registered a 7–20 record. In August 1902, Garvin became intoxicated and shot a Chicago bar owner named Lawrence Flanigan. He also pistol whipped a policeman during the incident. The injuries were not life-threatening. He was immediately released by the White Stockings.
Charles Comiskey Charles Albert Comiskey (August 15, 1859 – October 26, 1931), nicknamed "Commy" or "the Old Roman", was an American Major League Baseball player, manager, and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League and was als ...
said that Garvin had not been in good enough condition to pitch for the team in a long time and said that Garvin frequently carried a bottle of whiskey with him. Comiskey said that he was releasing Garvin for the protection of the other players on his team. Garvin was assessed a $100 fine after the incident. Garvin signed with the Brooklyn Superbas and appeared in two games for them late in 1902, returning to the team for the 1903 and 1904 seasons. In the middle of the 1904 season, the Brooklyn team was traveling to St. Louis by Pullman car when Garvin and a few teammates were drinking heavily. The team's traveling secretary tried to calm Garvin down, but Garvin beat him severely and caused great damage to the Pullman car. During the middle of his baseball career, Garvin began to study
dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...
in the offseason. In October 1904, Garvin was in
Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a City (New Jersey), city in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nicknamed "The Queen City",
, to file a lawsuit against the Plainfield Athletic Club over salary that he felt he was owed. Garvin attempted to start a conversation with another guest at the hotel, New York insurance salesman R. N. Sheffey. When the man continued to read his newspaper instead of talking to Garvin, the hot-headed pitcher beat Sheffey about the face, resulting in a broken nose. After the incident, Garvin took a trolley car to Scotch Plains, leaving his wife behind at the hotel. By the next day, Garvin agreed to return to Plainfield, to apologize to Sheffey, and to pay Sheffey $50. On the field, Garvin found that his luck had not improved while pitching with Chicago and Brooklyn. His 2.09 ERA in 1902 earned him only an 11–11 record. He had a 15–18 record the next year, despite a better-than-average 3.08 ERA. In 1904, Garvin pitched for a 1.72 ERA, a full run better than the league average, but he finished with a 5–16 record. His last two major league appearances came with the New York Highlanders at the end of the 1904 season. Bill James wrote that Garvin was "pretty much the tough-luck pitcher of the year every year."


Later life

After the 1904 season, Garvin spent the next two years pitching for the minor-league
Portland Giants Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...
and Seattle Siwashes of 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 ...
. In December 1906, there was speculation in the media that Garvin might not be asked to return to the team. In the same year, authorities had declared Garvin's wife Jean to be insane for the third time, as she was in the hospital and refusing to eat. Authorities were in the process of placing her either with her sister or in an institution. The couple had been longtime sweethearts and had been married since 1898. He spent his final season pitching with the Butte Miners of the
Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for six seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, 1886–1887, and 1891. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by t ...
in 1907. In August of that year, a newspaper account said that he was pitching well. By the winter, Garvin was suffering from
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
and his sports friends in Seattle raised money for him to return to Texas in the hopes that a climate change would help him. The change of location was ineffective, and Garvin moved again, this time to a drier climate in
Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
. He died there on June 16, 1908."Major League Baseball Players Who Died in California / Played in 1900." ''Baseball Almanac'', retrieved October 29, 201

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Notes


References


External links


Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garvin, Ned 1874 births 1908 deaths People from Navasota, Texas Baseball players from Grimes County, Texas Major League Baseball pitchers Philadelphia Phillies players Chicago Orphans players Milwaukee Brewers (1901) players Chicago White Sox players Brooklyn Superbas players New York Highlanders players 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Sherman Orphans players New Haven Texas Steers players Newark Colts players Grand Rapids Rippers players Grand Rapids Gold Bugs players Reading Actives players Philadelphia Athletics (minor league) players Reading Coal Heavers players Portland Giants players Portland Beavers players Seattle Siwashes players Butte Miners players 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in California