Theodore Amar Lyons (December 28, 1900 – July 25, 1986) 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 ...
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 ...
,
manager and
coach 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 played in 21 MLB seasons, all with the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
. He is the franchise leader in wins.
Lyons won 20 or more games three times (in , , and ) and became a fan favorite in Chicago.
Lyons was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955. He has the fourth-highest career
ERA among Hall of Fame pitchers,
and is the only Hall of Fame pitcher to have more walks than strikeouts. In 1981
Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included Lyons in their book ''The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time''.
Career
Playing career

Lyons broke into the major leagues in after playing collegiate baseball at
Baylor University
Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...
. He joined the White Sox on a road trip and never pitched a day in the minors. Lyons recorded his first two wins as a relief pitcher in a doubleheader on October 6, 1923, making him one of the first pitchers to perform the feat. He worked his way into the starting rotation the following year, when he posted a 12–11 record and 4.87
ERA.
On August 21, , Lyons
no-hit 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 ...
6–0 at
Fenway Park; the game took just 1 hour and 45 minutes to complete
Ted Lyons August 21, 1926 No-hitter Box Score.
On May 24, 1929, Lyons threw a 21 inning complete game in a 6-5 loss to 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 ...
.
George Uhle
George Ernest Uhle (September 18, 1898 – February 26, 1985) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he began his playing career with his hometown Cleveland Indians. After ten seasons, during which time he led the ...
, who was the winning pitcher, also pitched twenty innings to earn his eighth win of the season. The pair became the tenth pair of pitchers in baseball history to throw at least 20 innings in a game and only the 4th since the
live-ball era
The live-ball era, also referred to as the lively ball era, is the period in Major League Baseball since 1920. It contrasts with the pre-1920 period known as the " dead-ball era". The name "live-ball era" comes from the dramatic rise in offensive ...
began in 1920.
Lyons was at his crafty best in 1930, when he posted a 22–15 record and A.L.-leading totals of 29 complete games and innings for a team that finished 62–92. Prior to a 1931 arm injury, his pitches included a "sailer" (now known as a
cut fastball
Cut or CUT may refer to:
Common uses
* The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely directed force
** A type of wound
** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past
** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment
** ...
),
knuckleball
A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch (baseball), pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from Laminar flow, lamin ...
,
curveball, and
changeup. After the 1931 injury, his pitches included a
fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...
, slow curve, knuckleball and an even slower curveball used as a changeup.
[The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers: An Historical Compendium of Pitching, Pitchers, and Pitches. Bill James and Rob Neyer. 2004.]
As Lyons aged, his career benefited from the White Sox' decision to never let him pitch more than 30 games per season from on. He was such a draw among the fans that, as his career began to wind down in , manager
Jimmy Dykes began using him only in Sunday afternoon games,
which earned him the nickname "Sunday Teddy". Lyons made the most of his unusual scheduling, winning 52 of 82 decisions from 1939 until .
During 1942, Lyons's 20th and last full season, he led the league with a 2.10 ERA and completed every one of his 20 starts. Although exempt from the
military draft due to age, after the season he enlisted in the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
and fought in the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
. In 1943, the White Sox announced that Lyons's jersey number would not be reissued.
In May of that year, he was based in Chicago at the
Navy Pier. He commented that he would not be able to return to pitching if the war lasted three or four more years.
Lyons made a brief return to the mound in 1946, with a 2.32 ERA in five games, all complete. He stopped pitching for good that season, having compiled a 260–230 record, 356
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, 1073
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 and a 3.67 ERA. Lyons never appeared in a postseason game, as the generally mediocre-to-poor White Sox were usually far behind 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 ...
leaders during his career. In Lyons's 21 seasons with the Sox, they finished fifth or lower (in an eight-team league) 16 times, and never finished higher than third.
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
manager
Joe McCarthy said, "If (Lyons had) pitched for the Yankees, he would have won over 400 games."
Lyons was a better than average hitting pitcher in his 21-year major league career, posting a .233
batting average (364-for-1563) with 162
runs, 49
doubles, 9
triples, 5
home runs
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...
, 149
RBI and 73
bases on balls. He was used as a pinch hitter 45 times. Defensively, he recorded a .958
fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...
which was only a couple of points higher than the league average at his position.
Managing and coaching career
In May , six days after what would be his last game as a pitcher, Lyons took over as manager of the White Sox after an apparent contract dispute between Dykes and
Grace Comiskey.
He had less success as a manager than he had as a player, guiding them to a meager 185–245 record. Lyons resigned as manager in October 1948.
Lyons coached the pitchers 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 ...
(1949–1953) and
Brooklyn Dodgers ().
Managerial record
Later life
In 1955, he was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame. Lyons served as a scout with the White Sox until his retirement in 1967.
Apart from his wartime service and his stints as a coach with the Tigers and Dodgers, he spent over 40 years on the White Sox payroll.
Lawrence Ritter and
Donald Honig included Lyons in their book ''The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time'' (1981).
On July 25, 1986, Lyons died in a nursing home in
Sulphur, Louisiana.
One year later, the White Sox
retired his uniform number, #16.
In 2013, the
Bob Feller Act of Valor Award honored Lyons as one of 37 Baseball Hall of Fame members for his service in the United States Marine Corps during World War II.
See also
*
List of knuckleball pitchers
Knuckleball pitchers are baseball players who rely on the knuckleball as their primary pitch, or pitch primarily based on their ability to throw a knuckleball. The inventor of the knuckleball has never been established, although several pitchers f ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders
*
List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders
*
List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders
*
List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
*
List of Major League Baseball player-managers
Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Founded in 1869, it is composed of 30 Current Major League Baseball franchises, teams. Each team in the league has a manager (baseball), manager, wh ...
*
*
References
Further reading
* Honig, Donald (1975
''Baseball When the Grass Was Real: Baseball from the Twenties to the Forties Told by the Men Who Played It'' New York: Coward, McGann & Geoghegan. pp. 108–125. .
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Ted
1900 births
1986 deaths
Sportspeople from Lake Charles, Louisiana
National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
Major League Baseball pitchers
Chicago White Sox players
Detroit Tigers coaches
American League All-Stars
American League ERA champions
American League wins champions
Brooklyn Dodgers coaches
Chicago White Sox managers
Chicago White Sox scouts
Baseball players from Louisiana
Baylor Bears baseball players
Baylor Bears men's basketball players
Major League Baseball pitching coaches
Major League Baseball players with retired numbers
Knuckleball pitchers
Minor league baseball managers
Major League Baseball player-managers
United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II
United States Marines
American men's basketball players
20th-century American sportsmen