| Rube Marquard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1886-10-09)October 9, 1886 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| Died: June 1, 1980(1980-06-01) (aged 93) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 25, 1908, for the New York Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 18, 1925, for the Boston Braves | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 201–177 |
| Earned run average | 3.08 |
| Strikeouts | 1,593 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1971 |
| Election method | Veterans Committee |
Richard William "Rube"Marquard (October 9, 1886 – June 1, 1980) was an American left-handedpitcher inMajor League Baseball in the 1910s and early 1920s. He achieved his greatest success with theNew York Giants. He was inducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame in1971.
Rube Marquard was born inCleveland, Ohio, to German immigrant Fred Marquard and Lena Heiser Marquard.[1] Marquard claimed an 1889 year of birth, but 1900 census data and a birth certificate show an 1886 year of birth. Lena Marquard died of an abdominal infection in 1899, and Rube's grandmother took responsibility for raising him. Marquard quit school after the fifth grade; biographer Larry Mansch writes that he "simply refused to attend any longer".[2]
Newspaper reports first mentioned Marquard in 1905, when he played with an amateur team in Cleveland. Though pitching for a poor team that had a 1–15win–loss record at one point, Marquard attracted attention as a top pitcher. He broke a City League record with 16 strikeouts in a game against a team known as Brittons Printing. In September, the City League season finished and he signed with the semiprofessional Telling Strollers, an independent team sponsored by an ice cream company.[3]
He started his minor-league baseball career in 1906.[4] Despite his nickname, he was a city kid. As he told it in the 1966 bookThe Glory of Their Times, a writer in his minor-league days compared him favorably withRube Waddell, and soon Marquard was being called "Rube", also.[5]
In 1907, he went 23–13 with a 2.01earned run average (ERA) and led theCentral League in wins.[6] In 1908, he went 28–19 with a 1.69 ERA and led theAmerican Association in wins.[7] The New York Giants purchased Marquard for $11,000 — a then unheard-of sum to pay for a baseball player's contract — and his lack of success early in his major-league career led to his being tagged "the $11,000 lemon".
From 1911 to 1913, Marquard won at least 23 games each season, and helped the Giants win three consecutiveNational League pennants. In 1911, he led the league with 237strikeouts. In 1912, he led the league with 26 wins.[8] He also made baseball history by winning 19 decisions in a row. Marquard allegedly celebrated by buying an opal stickpin to reward himself. Upon being told by a friend that opals were ajinx, he threw the pin into a river, but apparently, the curse had already done its work, as he lost his next decision.
In 1914, Marquard went 12–22, and in 1915, he joined theBrooklyn Robins. He helped the team win pennants in 1916 and 1920. He then played for theCincinnati Reds in 1921 andBoston Braves from 1922 to 1925.[8]
During the 1920 World Series, he was arrested forticket scalping in Cleveland. He was alleged to be selling eight world box seats for $350 ($5,494 in current dollar terms), while the original cost was $52.80 ($829 in current dollar terms).[9] He was found guilty and fined $1 plus $3.50 in court costs.[10]
Marquard finished his major-league career in 1925 with a record of 201–177 and a 3.08 ERA.[8] His 1,593 strikeouts ranked third in major-league history among left-handers at the time (behind Rube Waddell andEddie Plank), and stood as the National League record for southpaws until his total was surpassed byCarl Hubbell, another New York Giant, in 1942.
He later pitched and managed in the minor leagues until 1933.[4] After baseball, he worked as a betting window teller atNarragansett Park.[11]
Marquard was a performer invaudeville, appearing withBlossom Seeley and later marrying her. That same year, Seeley gave birth to a son, Richard William Marquard II.[12]
He was elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame in 1971. His selection has often been criticized by thesabermetrics community, since Marquard's careeradjusted ERA+ was only slightly better than league average.Bill James described Marquard as "probably the worst starting pitcher in the Hall of Fame."[13] Marquard had been interviewed for the popular 1966 baseball book,The Glory of Their Times, and his chapter is thought to be one of the primary reasons for his election. However, most of the stories that he "recounted" were later found to be false.[14]
Marquard died inBaltimore, Maryland, on June 1, 1980, at the age of 93. He is interred in Baltimore Hebrew Cemetery in Baltimore.[8]
| Preceded by | No-hitter pitcher April 15, 1915 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Brooklyn RobinsOpening Day Starting pitcher 1918 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
