| Ledell Titcomb | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1866-08-26)August 26, 1866 West Baldwin, Maine, U.S. | |
| Died: June 8, 1950(1950-06-08) (aged 83) Exeter, New Hampshire, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 5, 1886, for the Philadelphia Quakers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 15, 1890, for the Rochester Broncos | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 30–29 |
| Earned run average | 3.47 |
| Strikeouts | 283 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Ledell N. Titcomb (August 21, 1866 – June 8, 1950), often referred to by the nicknameCannonball Titcomb, was an American professionalbaseballpitcher. He played for fourmajor league teams from 1886 to 1890.
In 1885, Titcomb started his professional baseball career with theHaverhill, Massachusetts, team of theEastern New England League.[1]
Titcomb made hismajor league debut on May 5, 1886, for thePhiladelphia Quakers of theNational League in a game against theNew York Giants. Philadelphia lost, 4–2.[2] Titcomb finished the season with a 0–5win–loss record in fivegames started with a 3.73earned run average (ERA).[3]
Titcomb started the 1887 season with thePhiladelphia Athletics of theAmerican Association before moving to theJersey City Skeeters of theInternational Association and then to the New York Giants of the National League.[1][4][5]
In 1888, with the Giants, Titcomb had his major league career-high in wins, going 14–8 with a 2.24 ERA.[3] He helped New York win the National League pennant and the1888 World Series.[4][5]
In 1889, Titcomb played for the Giants and then for theToronto Canucks of theInternational League. With Toronto, he went 15–13 and led the International League with a 1.28 ERA.[1][4][5]
Titcomb split the 1890 season between the Toronto Canucks of the International Association and theRochester Broncos of the American Association.[1] On September 15, with Rochester, Titcomb threw ano-hitter against theSyracuse Stars in a 7–0 victory.[4][5]
In 1891, Titcomb finished his professional baseball career with the Rochester Hop Bitters and theProvidence Clamdiggers of theEastern Association.[1]
During his five-year major league career, Titcomb had a 30–29 win–loss record, a 3.74 ERA, and 283strikeouts.[3]
Born inWest Baldwin, Maine, Titcomb was the son of Joseph J. Titcomb, acarpenter, and Fanny M. Titcomb.[3][6] He was married to Margaret B. Titcomb, and they resided in bothMassachusetts andNew Hampshire.[7] After his baseball career was over, Titcomb worked for theUnited Shoe Machinery Corporation.[4][5]
Titcomb died at the age of 83 inExeter, New Hampshire, and was interred at Greenwood Cemetery inKingston, New Hampshire.[3]
Posthumous chronicles and reference works about Titcomb referred to him as "Cannonball" (or "Cannon Ball") Titcomb, thus assigning him a nickname which was never used during his playing days and did not appear in newsprint until Titcomb was 82.Society for American Baseball Research historian and author Bill Lamb researched the origins of the nickname and in fall 2016 published an article in the SABR quarterly newsletterNineteenth Century Notes debunking the nickname. After analyzing between 600 and 700 newspaper articles mentioning Titcomb, Lamb discovered that, "For the most part, Titcomb was identified by last name only during his pro career. On at least 17 occasions, however, 'Ledell Titcomb' appeared in newsprint. At no time whatsoever during his professional playing career did the putative nickname 'Cannon Ball'/'Cannonball' appear in the newspapers that covered Titcomb." Lamb further wrote, "A search for the surname Titcomb in newspapers published from the start of Titcomb's playing days in 1884 until the day before his death in June 1950 via GenealogyBank yielded 10,458 page hits. Linkage of the word 'Cannonball' with 'Titcomb' promptly reduced that number to zero." After his playing days, during which Titcomb worked in shoe manufacturing, reported Lamb, he was accorded "sparse newspaper attention. ... But on the odd occasion when his name did appear in print, it was always given as 'Ledell Titcomb,' never as 'Cannon Ball'/'Cannonball' Titcomb."[8]
The nickname first appeared in print in 1948, two years before Titcomb's death. TheHaverhill Gazette ofHaverhill, Massachusetts, published a profile of the long-retired player, and the article included the following passage: "Those who remember Titcomb will recall that his pitches were so fast that the only fellow who could catch them wasBill (sic) Robinson, who later became manager of theBrooklyn Dodgers. His mates at Haverhill nicknamed him 'Cannonball' after he split a plank with a pitched ball." However, the unsubstantiated claim was unattributed in the article. When Titcomb died in 1950, theGazette repeated the nickname in an obituary which included numerous biographical errors. Thereafter, obituaries published by theAssociated Press[9] and inThe Sporting News, both of which drew upon theGazette obituary, repeating the erroneous nickname as well as the factual errors.[8]
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | No-hitter pitcher September 15, 1890 | Succeeded by |
