Ross Ernest Reynolds (August 20, 1887 – June 23, 1970), nicknamed "Doc", was a right-handed 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 ...

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, ...

. He played

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 ...

for five years from 1912 to 1916, including two 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 ...

for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

in 1914 and 1915. Known for his ability to throw a

spitball A spitball is a now-illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance such as saliva or petroleum jelly. This technique alters the wind resistance and weight on one side of the ball, causing it ...

with control, he appeared in 30 games, nine as a starter, and compiled a 5–4

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 2.62

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 ...

. As a rookie in 1914, he compiled a 2.08 ERA and defeated

Walter Johnson Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "the Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and Manager (baseball), manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Ba ...

in a 2–1 decision on August 25, 1914. Reynolds also played in the minor leagues for a team in

Minneapolis, Kansas Minneapolis is a city in and the county seat of Ottawa County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,946. History The community was originally called Markley's Mills, and under the latter name was l ...

(1912) and for the Topeka Kaws (1912–1913), the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

(1915), and the

Denver Bears Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of th ...

. Arm troubles ended his career in 1916 at age 29.

Early years

Reynolds was born in

Barksdale, Texas Barksdale is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the hill country section of the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in Edwards County. In 1990, Barksdale had 617 inhabitants and six businesses. By 2000, the p ...

, in 1887. He grew up and made his home in

Wetumka, Oklahoma Wetumka is a city in northern Hughes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,135 as of the 2020 Census. The Muscogee Creek who first settled it after removal in the 1830s named it for their ancestral town of Wetumpka in Alabama ...

. He was six feet, two inches tall, weighed 185 pounds, and threw and batted right-handed.

Professional baseball

Minneapolis and Topeka

Reynold began his professional baseball career in 1912 at age 25, playing for the Minneapolis Minnies in the Central Kansas League. He compiled a 17–11 record in 30 games for Minneapolis. In August 1912, Reynolds was purchased from Minneapolis by the Topeka Kaws of the Western League for $300 down and another $300 if Reynolds "made good." In September 1912, the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

drafted Reynolds, but they drafted him from Minneapolis rather than Topeka. On that basis, Topeka was able to nullify the draft in proceedings before the national commission, and Reynolds remained with Topeka for the 1913 season. On July 21, 1913, he pitched a no-hitter into the eighth inning and shut out Wichita by a 5–0 score.

Detroit Tigers

On August 1, 1913, the

purchased Reynolds from Topeka for $5,000, consisting of $4,000 in cash and two players. The sum was the highest price ever received by the Topeka club for the sale of a player. The agreement allowed Reynolds to remain with Topeka through the end of the 1913 season. At the time of the sale, Reynolds was described as "a big fellow and has just as much stuff left in the ninth inning as he starts out with in the first." At the end of spring training in 1914, manager

Hughie Jennings Hugh Ambrose Jennings (April 2, 1869 – February 1, 1928) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won N ...

had decided to send Reynolds to the minor leagues, but pitcher

Jean Dubuc Jean Joseph Octave Dubuc (September 15, 1888 – August 28, 1958), sometimes known by the nickname "Chauncey", was a right-handed American baseball pitcher, manager, and scout, and a coach of both baseball and ice hockey. A native of Vermont, D ...

persuaded team owner

Frank Navin Francis Joseph Navin (April 18, 1871 – November 13, 1935) was an American businessman and baseball executive who was the president of the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball for 27 years, from 1908 to 1935. He was part-owner from 1908 to ...

to keep Reynolds on the Tigers' lineup. Dubuc opined that Reynolds had the best control of a spitball he had ever seen. Dubuc added: "If you want a 'Walsh in the bud,' keep this fellow. He has a fine spit-ball, good control, holds men on the sacks and has plenty of nerve. He's a comer or I don't know anything about pitching." Detroit sports writer E. A. Batchelor had this to say about Reynolds: "He is well over six feet, broad-shouldered and deep chested and has one of those square jaws which denotes courage under fire." The Tigers followed Dubuc's advice and used Reynolds principally as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

during the 1914 season. Reynolds appeared in 26 games for the Tigers in 1914, seven as a starter, compiling a 5–3 record with a 2.08

(ERA). His ERA was ninth best in the

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 ...

. on August 25, 1914, Reynolds allowed only five hits and won a pitching duel with

, as the Tigers defeated the Washington Senators, 2–1. Reynolds scored the winning run after Johnson misplayed his bunt, allowing it to roll through his legs. After advancing to second base,

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American professional baseball center fielder. A native of rural Narrows, Georgia, Cobb played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent ...

got a base hit to right field, and Johnson deflected the throw to the plate allowing Reynolds to score. In 1915, Reynolds appeared in only four games for the Tigers, two as a starter, all early in the season. His ERA soared to 6.35 as he gave up eight earned runs, 17 hits and five

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

in 11-1/3 innings pitched. He appeared in his last major league game on May 1, 1915. According to one account, his "old fault of wildness" bothered Reynolds in early games for the Tigers.

Louisville and Denver

On May 16, 1915, Reynolds was sold to the

and appeared in 15 games for the Colonels during the 1915 season. On August 9, 1915, Reynolds was fined and suspended for the remainder of the season for failing to observe the club's training rules. He was reportedly not "in condition to play good base ball." In March 1916, the Louisville club sold Reynolds to the

of the Western League. His release was a surprise to Louisville fans given the progress Reynolds had made during spring practice. He had reportedly shown up in "superb condition" and had been "one of the hardest workers in the training camp." Reynolds appeared in 18 games for Denver and compiled a 4–7 record with a 3.03 ERA. On July 8, 1916, having suffered from "a bad arm," Reynolds was released by the Denver club.

Later years

Reynolds died in

Ada, Oklahoma Ada is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,481 at the 2020 United States census. The city was named for Ada Reed, the daughter of an early settler, and was in ...

, in 1970, at age 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Ross 1887 births 1970 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Detroit Tigers players Baseball players from Texas People from Edwards County, Texas Newton Railroaders players Minneapolis Minnies (Kansas) players Topeka Jayhawks players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Denver Bears players 20th-century American sportsmen