William Jennings Bryan "Slim" Harriss (December 11, 1897 – September 19, 1963) was an American professional
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 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) during the 1920s for the
Philadelphia Athletics
The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...
and
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
.
Biography
Harriss was born in 1897 in
Brownwood, Texas
Brownwood is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, Texas, United States. The population was 18,862 as of th2020 census Brownwood is in the Texas Hill Country and is home to Howard Payne University, which was founded in 1889.
History
...
.
[ He studied at Howard Payne College Academy, but did not attend college.]
A tall, lanky hurler, Harriss entered the majors in 1920 with the Philadelphia Athletics
The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...
, playing for them six-and-a-half seasons before joining the Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
and playing for them for two-and-a-half seasons. He led 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 ...
in losses twice, with 20 in 1922 and 21 in 1927. His most productive season came with the 1925 Athletics, when he recorded career-highs with 19 wins, a 3.49 ERA
An era is a span of time.
Era or ERA may also refer to:
* Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time
* Calendar era
Education
* Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school
* ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia
* E ...
, and 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 ...
. During the 1926 midseason, he was sent by the Athletics along Fred Heimach and Baby Doll Jacobson to the Red Sox in the same transaction that brought Tom Jenkins and Howard Ehmke to Philadelphia. That year, he became the last pitcher (through the end of the 2019 season
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number)
* One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film
* '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film
* '' Dici ...
) to throw more than 150 inning
In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...
s in a season without allowing a single 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 ( ...
. In 1928, he led the hapless pitching staff of Boston with 14 wins and 77 strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...
s.
In a nine-season career, Harriss posted a 95–135 record with 644 strikeouts and a 4.26 ERA in 349 appearances, including 228 starts, 89 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, seven 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, 78 games finished
In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game.
Mariano Rivera is the ...
, 16 saves, and innings of work.
As of February 1942, Harriss was living in Bangs, Texas, and working as a farmer. He died in Temple, Texas
Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the city has a population of 82,073 according to the 2020 United States census, U.S. census. Temple lies in the region referred to as Central Texas and is a principal city in th ...
, in September 1963 at age 65.[
]
Notes
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harriss, Slim
1897 births
1963 deaths
Boston Red Sox players
Philadelphia Athletics players
20th-century American sportsmen
Major League Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from Brown County, Texas
Sportspeople from Brownwood, Texas
Dallas Steers players
Houston Buffaloes players
Kansas City Blues (baseball) players
Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players
St. Paul Saints (AA) players