Ehmke broke in with the
Federal League but was grabbed by Detroit when the Feds folded
and twice won 17 games for them. Traded to the Red Sox in 1923, he pitched a no-hitter
that would have been a one-hitter had not an Athletics' runner failed to touch first
base on an apparent double. Four days later he pitched a one-hitter against the Yankees,
the only hit being a ground ball that bounced off the third baseman's chest. Ehmke
won 20 games for the Red Sox in '23 and 19 the next season. By 1929, he seemed nearly
washed up, having won only seven games for the pennant-winning Athletics. It came
as a shock when
Connie Mack started him in the World Series opener against the Cubs.
Mack reasoned that the sidearming Ehmke had the perfect mix of control and slow stuff
to keep the predominantly righthand-hitting Cubs off balance, and gave Ehmke time
off near the end of the season to personally scout the Cubs. Ehmke struck out a then-record
13 in pitching an P
x
x
eight-hit, 3-1 victory.
(NLM)
Howard Ehmke
teams