| Ted Lyons | |
|---|---|
 Lyons with the Chicago White Sox in 1930 | |
| Pitcher /Manager | |
| Born:(1900-12-28)December 28, 1900 Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S. | |
| Died: July 25, 1986(1986-07-25) (aged 85) Sulphur, Louisiana, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 2, 1923, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 19, 1946, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 260–230 |
| Earned run average | 3.67 |
| Strikeouts | 1,073 |
| Managerial record | 185–245 |
| Winning % | .430 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| As player As manager | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1955 |
| Vote | 86.5% (tenth ballot) |
Theodore Amar Lyons (December 28, 1900 – July 25, 1986) was an American professionalbaseballstarting pitcher,manager andcoach inMajor League Baseball (MLB). He played in 21 MLB seasons, all with theChicago White Sox. He is the franchise leader in wins.[1] Lyons won 20 or more games three times (in1925,1927, and1930) and became a fan favorite in Chicago.
Lyons was inducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame in 1955. He has the fourth-highest careerERA among Hall of Fame pitchers,[2] and is the only Hall of Fame pitcher to have more walks than strikeouts. In 1981Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included Lyons in their bookThe 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time.
Lyons broke into the major leagues in1923 after playing collegiate baseball atBaylor University. 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 4.87ERA.
On August 21,1926, Lyonsno-hit theBoston Red Sox 6–0 atFenway 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 theDetroit Tigers.George Uhle, 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 thelive-ball era began in 1920.[3]
Lyons was at his crafty best in 1930, when he posted a 22–15 record and A.L.-leading totals of 29 complete games and297+2⁄3 innings for a team that finished 62–92. Prior to a 1931 arm injury, his pitches included a "sailer" (now known as acut fastball),knuckleball,curveball, andchangeup. After the 1931 injury, his pitches included afastball, slow curve, knuckleball and an even slower curveball used as a changeup.[4]
As Lyons aged, his career benefited from the White Sox' decision to never let him pitch more than 30 games per season from1934 on. He was such a draw among the fans that, as his career began to wind down in1939, managerJimmy Dykes began using him only in Sunday afternoon games,[5] which earned him the nickname "Sunday Teddy". Lyons made the most of his unusual scheduling, winning 52 of 82 decisions from 1939 until1942.
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 themilitary draft due to age, after the season he enlisted in theUnited States Marine Corps and fought in thePacific War. In 1943, the White Sox announced that Lyons's jersey number would not be reissued.[6] In May of that year, he was based in Chicago at theNavy Pier. He commented that he would not be able to return to pitching if the war lasted three or four more years.[7]
Lyons made a brief return to the mound in 1946, with a 2.32 ERA[5] in five games, all complete. He stopped pitching for good that season, having compiled a 260–230 record, 356complete games, 1073strikeouts and a 3.67 ERA. Lyons never appeared in a postseason game, as the generally mediocre-to-poor White Sox were usually far behind theAmerican League 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 managerJoe 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 .233batting average (364-for-1563) with 162runs, 49doubles, 9triples, 5home runs, 149RBI and 73bases on balls. He was used as a pinch hitter 45 times. Defensively, he recorded a .958fielding percentage which was only a couple of points higher than the league average at his position.
In May1946, 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 andGrace Comiskey.[8] 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.[9]
Lyons coached the pitchers for theDetroit Tigers (1949–1953) andBrooklyn Dodgers (1954).
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| CWS | 1946 | 124 | 64 | 60 | .516 | 5th in AL | – | – | – | – |
| CWS | 1947 | 154 | 70 | 84 | .455 | 6th in AL | – | – | – | – |
| CWS | 1948 | 152 | 51 | 101 | .336 | 8th in AL | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 430 | 185 | 245 | .430 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
In 1955, he was inducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame. Lyons served as a scout with the White Sox until his retirement in 1967.[10] 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 andDonald Honig included Lyons in their bookThe 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time (1981).
On July 25, 1986, Lyons died in a nursing home inSulphur, Louisiana.[11] One year later, the White Soxretired his uniform number, #16.
In 2013, theBob 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.[12]
· Baseball Almanac| Preceded by | No-hitter pitcher August 21, 1926 | Succeeded by |
