Noble Winfred Ballou (November 30, 1897 – January 30, 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, ...

who appeared in 99 games, 71 of them as a

reliever 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 ...

, 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 ...

between 1925 and 1929 for the Washington Senators,

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

and

Brooklyn Robins 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 ...

. The native of Mount Morgan, Kentucky, stood tall, weighed , and threw and batted right-handed. He spent his college days at

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. It also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, and Manchester and offers over 40 online undergraduate and graduate options. History Founding ...

. Ballou's pitching career took place over 21 seasons between 1922 and 1944. As a big-league

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

in , he worked in ten games for 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 ...

champion Senators, and appeared in Games 5 and 6 of the

1925 World Series The 1925 World Series was the championship series of the 1925 Major League Baseball season. A best-of-seven playoff, it was played between the National League Champion Pittsburgh Pirates and the American League Champion Washington Senators. Th ...

. He threw

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

of hitless,

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 ...

relief, but Washington lost both games en route to a seven-game defeat at the hands of the

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

. Traded to St. Louis the following February, Ballou appeared in 43 games for the Browns and won 11 games, second on the club, and saved two more for a team that finished seventh and won only 62 games all year. He pitched less frequently in , getting into 21 games, and the Browns sent him to the

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 ...

of the minor-league American Association, where he spent all of 1928 and won 14 games. In his final major-league season, , he appeared in 25 games for the Brooklyn Robins, but he was ineffective and his

MLB 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 ...

career ended at age 31. In his 99 career games, Ballou won 19 games and lost 20, with ten

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, no shutouts and three saves. In innings pitched, he allowed 398 hits, 168

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 ...

and 187

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s, for a career ERA of 5.11. He

struck out 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 safel ...

109. Ballou continued to pitch professionally in the top-level

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 ...

for 14 more seasons. He won 24 games (losing 13) for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

in 1931, then posted an 18–8 record for the 1935 San Francisco Seals. He died in San Francisco, aged 65, on January 29, 1963.

External links

1897 births 1963 deaths Baseball players from Kentucky Brooklyn Robins players Chattanooga Lookouts players Eastern Kentucky Colonels baseball players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Paris Bourbons players People from Whitley County, Kentucky Washington Senators (1901–1960) players St. Louis Browns players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Vicksburg Hill Billies players 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1890s-stub