James Francis "Pud" Galvin (December 25, 1856 – March 7, 1902) 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 ...

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 the 19th century. He was MLB's first 300-game winner and was posthumously inducted into the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

in 1965.

Baseball career

Galvin grew up in Kerry Patch, an Irish neighborhood in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. He debuted for St. Louis of the National Association in 1875, the franchise's inaugural season, and started eight games for the team. He spent the next seasons with Buffalo in the International Association and later 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 ...

. In his first full MLB season in 1879, Galvin had a win–loss record of 37–27 and a 2.28

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 ...

(retroactively calculated; ERA was not an established statistic before the 20th century) in 593

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 ...

. On August 20, 1880, he became the first major league pitcher to throw 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 ...

on the road, leading his

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

to a 1–0 victory over the Worcester Worcesters. He pitched over 400 innings in 1880, 1881, and 1882. In 1883, Galvin went 46–29 with a 2.72 ERA, setting career highs in wins,

games started In baseball statistics, games started (denoted by GS) indicates the number of games pitched, games that a pitcher has starting pitcher, started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he throws the first pitch to the first opp ...

(75),

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 (72), and innings pitched (656.1); he led the NL in the latter three categories. The following season, in 1884, he went 46–22 with a 1.99 ERA in 72 games started, 71 complete games, and 636.1 innings pitched. Galvin was traded 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 ...

midseason in 1885. He played for the Allegheny club from 1885 to 1889, pitching over 300 innings each year. He jumped to the Pittsburgh Burghers of the short-lived

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded American professional baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Pr ...

before the 1890 season and then returned to the Alleghenys (now named the "Pirates") after the season. On June 14, 1892, Galvin was traded to the St. Louis Browns. He retired after the 1892 season, though he made a brief return to Buffalo (by this time a minor league franchise) in 1894. Galvin played in an era where two-man pitching rotations were common – hence his 6,003 innings pitched and 646 complete games, both of which are second only to the career totals of

Cy Young Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family's farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career. Young entered t ...

. Upon his retirement, Galvin held all-time records in several pitching categories, including wins, innings pitched, games started, games completed and

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. He became MLB's first 300-game winner in 1888. Galvin holds the record for most games started in a single season by a pitcher before 1893, 75 (tied with Will White). Galvin is the only player in baseball history to win 20 or more games in 10 different years without winning a pennant, finishing his career with a total of 365 wins and 310 losses. The nickname "Pud" originated because Galvin was said to make hitters "look like pudding." Galvin was also nicknamed "The Little Steam Engine", a tribute to his power in spite of his small size. He was sometimes known as "Gentle Jeems" because of his kind disposition.

Legacy

Galvin died poor at age 45 on March 7, 1902, in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, and, as a Roman Catholic, is buried in Calvary Catholic Cemetery. He was posthumously elected to the

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

by the

Veterans Committee The Veterans Committee is the popular name of various committees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum that elect participants other than recently retired players. Originally, it referenced the National Baseball Hall of Fame Committee ...

. In honor of his achievements in Buffalo, Galvin was inducted into the

Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame The Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame was started by the Buffalo Bisons organization in 1985 to honor former members of the Buffalo Bisons (1878, 1887–1888), Buffalo Bisons (1879–1885), Buffalo Bisons (1886–1970), Buffalo Bisons (1890), B ...

in 1985. A 2006

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

article referred to Galvin as "the first baseball player to be widely known for using a

performance-enhancing substance Performance-enhancing substances (PESs), also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. Many substances, such as anabolic steroids, can be used to improve ath ...

." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' reported that Galvin used the Brown-Séquard

elixir An elixir is a sweet liquid used for medical purposes, to be taken orally and intended to cure one's illness. When used as a dosage form, pharmaceutical preparation, an elixir contains at least one active ingredient designed to be taken orall ...

, which contained monkey

testosterone Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and androgen in Male, males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testicles and prostate, as well as promoting se ...

, before a single game in 1889. However, no one seemed bothered by the use of the elixir, and the newspaper practically endorsed it after the game, saying that Galvin's performance was "the best proof yet furnished of the value of the discovery."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Galvin, Pud 1856 births 1902 deaths 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen American people of Irish descent Baseball players from St. Louis Buffalo (minor league baseball) players Buffalo Bisons (NL) managers Buffalo Bisons (NL) players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Burials at Calvary Catholic Cemetery (Pittsburgh) Catholics from Missouri Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball player-managers National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Pittsburgh Allegheny players Pittsburgh Alleghenys (NL) players Pittsburgh Burghers players Pittsburgh Pirates players San Francisco Athletics players St. Louis Brown Stockings (NA) players St. Louis Browns (NL) players Pittsburgh Alleghenys (AA) players

Baseball career

Legacy

See also

References

External links