| Chief Bender | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bender in 1911 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1884-05-05)May 5, 1884 Crow Wing County, Minnesota, U.S. | |
| Died: May 22, 1954(1954-05-22) (aged 70) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 20, 1903, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 21, 1925, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 212–127 |
| Earned run average | 2.46 |
| Strikeouts | 1,711 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1953 |
| Election method | Veterans Committee |
Charles Albert "Chief"Bender (Ojibwe:Mandowescence; May 5, 1884[a 1] – May 22, 1954) was aNative American professionalbaseballpitcher who played inMajor League Baseball during the 1900s and 1910s. In 1911, Bender tied a record by pitching threecomplete games in a singleWorld Series. He finished his career with a 212–127win–loss record for a .625 winning percentage and a career 2.46earned run average (ERA).
After his major league playing career, Bender's roles in baseball included major league coach, minor league manager and player-manager, college manager, and professional scout. He was elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame in 1953 and died the following year.
Bender was born inCrow Wing County, Minnesota, as a member of theWhite Earth Band of theMinnesota Chippewa Tribe.[1] His father was German and his mother was part Chippewa. As a child, he was namedMandowescence, which might be translated into English as "Little Spirit Animal". His family had 160 acres (65 ha) on theWhite Earth Indian Reservation nearDetroit Lakes, Minnesota. His father taught him to farm on the reservation.[2] He graduated fromCarlisle Indian Industrial School and attendedDickinson College.
Bender debuted in the major leagues in 1903. He is one of only a few pitchers in the 20th century to throw 200 or more innings at the age of 19. His walks per nine innings rate were 2.17; only a few pitchers since 1893 have had a rate below 2.2 at the age of 20 or younger. That year, he also won a game againstCy Young and met his future wife Marie.[3]
In 1905, Bender earned an 18–11win–loss record with a 2.83 ERA, helping the A's win the AL pennant; but they lost the World Series in five games to theNew York Giants. Bender went 1–1 with a 1.06 ERA in the series, pitching a 4-hit, 3–0 complete-game shutout in Game 2, striking out 9. He went the distance again in Game 5, giving up just two earned runs in eight innings, losing 2–0 toChristy Mathewson.
After solid seasons in 1906 (15–10, 2.53), 1907 (16–8, 2.05), 1908 (8–9 despite a 1.75 ERA), and 1909 (18–8, 1.66), he led the Athletics to the AL pennant in 1910, as Philadelphia went 102–48,14+1⁄2 games ahead of the second-placeNew York Highlanders. Bender led the AL in winning percentage, at .821, going 23–5 with a 1.58 ERA. He went 1–1 with a 1.93 ERA in theWorld Series as the A's beat theChicago Cubs, who had gone 104–50 in the regular season, in five games. Bender pitched a complete-game three-hitter in the opener, striking out 8 and giving up only one unearned run. He lost Game 4 of the series in another complete-game effort, 4–3 in 10 innings. Bender pitched all9+2⁄3 innings for the Athletics, striking out 6.
In 1911, he led the AL in winning percentage again (.773), going 17–5 with a 2.16 ERA as the A's won their second consecutive AL pennant, going 101–50 and finishing13+1⁄2 games ahead of theDetroit Tigers. In a rematch of the1905 World Series, the Athletics got their revenge, defeating the New York Giants and becoming the first American League team to win back-to-back World Series (the Chicago Cubs from the NL had won back-to-back titles in 1907 and 1908). After losing the opener 2–1 to Mathewson, though pitching a complete game, giving up just 5 hits and 2 runs (1 earned run) and striking out 11, Bender returned in Game 4, beating the Giants 4–2 on a complete game 7-hitter, and closed out the Series in game 6 with a 13–2 A's victory. Bender again went the distance (his 3rd complete game of the series), a 4-hit performance which he gave up no earned runs (the two Giants runs were unearned). He went 2–1, with 1.04 ERA and 3 complete games in the series.
In 1912 Bender was 13–8 with a 2.74 ERA. He did not start for nearly 40 games late in the year and was suspended by the A's in September for alcohol abuse. His next contract had a clause saying he had to abstain from drinking to earn his full salary. In 1913, he went 21–10 with a 2.21 ERA, helping the A's win their third AL pennant in four years. They would also make it three World Series titles in four years by defeating the Giants in five games. Bender went 2–0 in the series with complete-game victories in Games 1 and 4.
He led the AL in winning percentage (.850) for the third time in 1914, going 17–3 with a 2.26 ERA, and the A's would win their fourth AL pennant in five years. But the Athletics would be swept by the underdogBoston Braves, with Bender losing Game 1 7–1, giving up 6 earned runs in5+1⁄3 innings. It was the only World Series game he failed to finish, after completing his previous nine starts in the Fall Classic.
_(1911)_(14801801473).jpg)
When theBaltimore Terrapins of the upstartFederal League offered Bender a large salary increase, Athletics managerConnie Mack knew he could not hope to match it and released Bender.[5] In his only season with the Terrapins, Bender went 4–16, and his 3.99 ERA was near the bottom of the league.[6] Bender later regretted leaving Philadelphia for the upstart league.[7] After two years with thePhiladelphia Phillies, he left baseball in 1918 to work in the shipyards during World War I.[8]
Over his career, his win–loss record was 212–127, for a .625 winning percentage (a category in which he led theAmerican League in three seasons), and a career 2.46 ERA. His talent was even more noticeable in the high-pressure environment of theWorld Series; in five trips to the championship series, he managed six wins and a 2.44ERA, completing 9 of the 10 games he started, putting him second in World Series history behind Christy Mathewson. In the1911 Series, he pitched threecomplete games to tie Mathewson's record of three complete games in a World Series. He also threw ano-hitter on May 12, 1910, beating theCleveland Indians 4–0.[9]
Bender was an adept hitting pitcher in his major league career, posting a .212batting average (243-for-1,147) with 102runs, 6home runs and 116RBI. Bender notably hit two home runs in one game—rare for the dead ball era—in a 1906 game where he replaced outfielderTopsy Hartsel.[10] He had 10 or more RBI in a season four times, with a career-high 16 in 1910.[11]
In 1919, Bender pitched in the minor leagues for theRichmond Colts of theVirginia League. He earned a 29–2 record that year. He spent the next three seasons as a player-manager: the first two seasons with theNew Haven Weissmen/Indians and the third was with the Class AAReading Aces. For the 1920 New Haven team, Bender recorded 25 wins as a pitcher. His record declined to 13–7 in 1921 and 8–13 in 1922.[12]
In 1923 and 1924, Bender did not manage, but did pitch for the minor leagueBaltimore Orioles and theNew Haven Profs, respectively. He went 6–3 with a 5.03 ERA for Baltimore, then went 6–4 with a 3.07 ERA for New Haven.[12]
Bender came back to the majors as a coach for theChicago White Sox (1925–26) and even made a cameo appearance on the mound in 1925. Between 1924 and 1928, Bender managed the baseball team at theUnited States Naval Academy, where he had a record of 42–34–2.[13] In 1931, he coached for the Giants and the next year managed the Yankees affiliate in the Central League. He then returned to the Athletics where he worked as a scout, minor league manager, and coach. The Yankees signed Bender in February 1942 as a pitching coach for theNewark Bears.[14]
Bender was nicknamed "Chief", a common nickname for baseball players of Native American descent.[15] Biographer Tom Swift writes that Bender "was often portrayed as a caricature and was the subject of myriad cartoons – many exhibits of narrow-mindedness. After he threw one of the most dominating games of the early years of the American League, Bender was depicted wielding a tomahawk and wearing a headdress as though he was a happy warrior."[16]
He also faced discrimination on the field. Swift writes that taunting from the bench was common in Bender's era and that the opposition or the fans often made war whoops or yelled taunts such as "Nig!" or "Back to the reservation!" Bender usually remained calm, sometimes smiling at the insults. After an inning in which he had pitched particularly well, he might yell back, "Foreigners! Foreigners!"[17]
Off the baseball field, Bender was one of several prominent baseball players who enjoyedtrap shooting, bowling, and golf.[18][19] He felt that shooting in the offseason helped to train his eye and increase his self-control. He worked in sporting goods atWanamaker's in Philadelphia during his early playing days.[20] He opened his own store, Bender Sporting Goods, in 1914.[21]
In February 1917, Bender was charged withmanslaughter when a car he owned struck and killed a boy inPhiladelphia and the driver sped off.[22] He was cleared of wrongdoing later the same month by acoroner's jury.[23]
Bender's brother, John C. Bender, also played professional baseball. John Bender was suspended from minor league baseball for three years beginning in 1908 after he stabbed his manager,Win Clark, several times during a fight. John Bender is sometimes erroneously described as having died on a baseball field, but he died at a restaurant in 1911, not long after attempting a professional baseball comeback.[24]
Late in his life, Bender's friend John Burns gave him a plot of land inHaddon Heights, New Jersey. Bender planted a garden on the land and worked with it almost every day, even though he lived in Philadelphia, about 12 miles away. He grew fruits and vegetables, especially corn, and ate, sold, or gave away what he grew.[25] After the 1950 season, Bender took his last position in the major leagues, replacingMickey Cochrane as the pitching coach for the Athletics.[26] Bender's coaching helped pitcherBobby Shantz win theAmerican League Most Valuable Player Award in 1952.[27] Bender was struggling with health problems, including arthritis and a cancer he did not disclose, during his tenure with Philadelphia.[28]
In his last days, Bender remained close friends with Athletics coachBing Miller, who used to bring Bender a container of ice cream almost every day. Bender was hospitalized in Philadelphia in mid-April 1954. He died there on May 22, 1954, ofprostate cancer. He had also been suffering from cardiac problems.[29] While he had been hospitalized, Bender sent Marie toShibe Park for each home game so that she could report back to him on his team's pitching.
Bender was buried in the Philadelphia suburb ofRoslyn, Pennsylvania.[30]
Bender was well-liked by his fellow players. TeammateRube Bressler called him "one of the kindest and finest men who ever lived".[31]Ty Cobb praised his intelligence, describing a play by Bender in the1911 World Series as "the greatest bit of brainwork I ever saw in a ballgame".[32] Cobb was not alone in regard for his intelligence; Bender drew similar praise from many other teammates, opponents, and umpires, includingBilly Evans andNap Lajoie.[8] Bender was also known for his keen eye and ability to discern subtle details of opposing pitchers' motions to help his teammates predict their pitches.[33] His success led other teams to suspect Bender and the Athletics werestealing signs; though teammateCy Morgan denied the A's were stealing signs,Danny Murphy praised Bender's ability and said he could "come pretty near to getting anybody's signs." Mack often put this skill to use by occasionally using Bender as the third or first base coach on days he wasn't scheduled to pitch.[34]
The innovator of theslider is debated, but some credit Bender as the first to use the pitch, then called a "nickel curve", in the 1910s.[35] Bender used his slider to help him achieve ano-hitter and win 212 games.[36]
Bender was voted into theBaseball Hall of Fame in1953, less than a year before his death. He died before his induction ceremony and Marie accepted the Hall of Fame plaque on his behalf.[30]
In 1981,Lawrence Ritter andDonald Honig included him in their bookThe 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time. The Minnesota Humanities Center published a children book about his life,Charles Albert Bender: National Hall of Fame Pitcher, written byKade Ferris (Turtle Mountain Chippewa/Métis) and illustrated by Tashia Hart (Red Lake Chippewa).[37]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
| Preceded by | No-hitter pitcher May 12, 1910 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
