Books and articles about Burleigh Grimes

Burleigh Grimes was the last legal spitball pitcher in the majors. In a 19-year career that ended in 1934, he often faked the spitter to keep batters guessing.

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Grimes never shaved on days he pitched, because the slippery elm he chewed to increase saliva irritated his skin. His growth of stubble added to his ominous mound presence and led to his nickname, Ol' Stubblebeard. The belligerent pitcher never permitted a batter to dig in at the plate. It was said Grimes's idea of an intentional pass was four pitches at the batter's head.

During the 1920s, Grimes was a standout, twice leading the league in victories and five times topping the 20-win mark. He was durable, leading the league four times in starts and three times in innings pitched. After five straight winning seasons for Brooklyn, his 19 losses in 1925 topped the NL. Following a 12-13 mark in 1926, he was traded to the Giants and was 19-8 in his one season for New York. He peaked as a 25-game winner for Pittsburgh in 1928.

Grimes carried his cantankerous ways with him as manager of the Dodgers, though the team was rarely in a game long enough to make battling tactics pay off. He took over a bedraggled club that had frustrated Casey Stengel in 1937. His chances of developing a winner were undermined when new boss Larry McPhail brought shortstop Leo Durocher to the team. Grimes and Durocher were both battlers, but Durocher was brash and charming, while Grimes was simply pugnacious. Grimes was also frustrated when McPhail signed Babe Ruth as a first base coach and batting practice attraction. Ruth would belt ball after ball over the screen into Bedford Avenue, but his attention span would lapse in the first base coaching box. By 1939 Burleigh and the Babe were gone. Durocher began his managerial career and a new era came to Brooklyn.

A decade of minor league managing followed for Grimes, during which he never ceased his aggressive baseball behavior. Although he was a genial companion off the field, he raged at every close decision against his team. He was suspended in 1940 while managing Grand Rapids (Michigan State League) for an altercation with an umpire. He died of cancer at age 92, twenty-one years after the Veterans Committee selected him for Cooperstown. (JK)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » September 14, 1916: Four days after his first appearance, Pirate rookie Burleigh Grimes makes his first start, against the Dodgers at Ebbets Field. Brooklyn breaks a scoreless tie with two runs in the 7th, after Honus Wagner flubs a DP grounder hit by Casey Stengel. Wagner, who ostensibly had told the rookie to have Stengel hit the ball to short, reportedly says, "Those damn big feet of mine have always been in my way." (Okrent & Wulf) Pittsburgh scores two in the 8th to tie but pitcher Larry Cheney hits a run-scoring double in the bottom of the 9th to win it for Brooklyn. » January 9, 1918: Brooklyn sends OF Casey Stengel and infielder George Cutshaw to Pittsburgh for P Burleigh Grimes, P Al Mamaux, and infielder Chuck Ward. » April 30, 1919: Joe Oeschger goes 20 innings for the Phils in a 9-9 tie against Brooklyn's Burleigh Grimes. Both teams score 3 in the 19th. Oeschger walks 5, gives up 22 hits. Grimes walks 5, gives up 15 hits. » September 6, 1920: When Wheeler Johnston pinch-hits for Cleveland in the 9th inning of game 2, his brother Jimmy is playing 3B for Brooklyn. They become the first brothers to take opposite sides in a World Series. Spitballer Burleigh Grimes (23-11) strands 10 Indians while the Robins chip away at Jim Bagby (31-12) for three single tallies and a 3–0 Series evener. » September 12, 1920: Stan Coveleski wins his 3rd complete game of the Series, and the Indians wrap it up, as Dodger bats are silent again. Burleigh Grimes is nicked for single scores in the 4th, 5th, and 7th, for a 3–0 loss. Utility IF Jack Sheehan plays 3B for Brooklyn and gets his 2nd hit of the Series, the same number of hits he had during the season. These four are his only ML hits. Brooklyn manager Robinson, upset with Marquard's arrest, keeps Rube on the bench: the Dodgers have already made the decision to unload the pitcher. Rube's wife, "Blossom Seeley" —her vaudeville name, comes to the same conclusion and files for divorce next week. » October 12, 1920: Stan Coveleski wins his 3rd game of the Series, and the Indians wrap it up, as Dodger bats are silent again. Burleigh Grimes is nicked for single scores in the 4th, 5th, and 7th, for a 3-0 loss. Utility IF Jack Sheehan plays 3B for Brooklyn and gets his 2nd hit of the Series, the same number of hits he had during the season. These 4 are his only ML hits. » December 17, 1920: The American League votes to allow pitchers who used the spitball in 1920 to continue using it as long as they are in the league. The National League will do the same. There will be 17 designated spitters in all, eight in the NL and nine in the AL. For the NL: Bill Doak, Phil Douglas, Dana Fillingim, Ray Fisher, Marvin Goodwin, Burleigh Grimes, Clarence Mitchell, and Dick Rudolph. For the AL: A.W. Ayers, Slim Caldwell, Stan Coveleski, Red Faber, H.B. Leonard, Jack Quinn, Allan Russell, Urban Shocker, and Allen Sothoron. » June 4, 1921: The Pirates' Wilbur Cooper, who with Burleigh Grimes will lead the NL with 22 wins, loses his first after eight straight victories when the Giants drub him 12-0. The Giants are on top, but only for a few days; the Pirates will regain the lead. » September 27, 1921: In the first of two at Boston, Braves C Ray Powell hits three triples, tying the ML mark, in an 8–5 win over Brooklyn. Dana Fillingim is the winner over Burleigh Grimes. » September 20, 1922: Brooklyn's Burleigh Grimes stops the Cardinals on three scratch hits to win the opener, 6–1, of twinbill against St. Louis. Grimes also snaps Rogers Hornsby's hit streak at 33 games, which still stands as a Cardinal record. Hornsby recovers his stroke in the nightcap and hits two home runs as the Cards outslug the Robins, 13–7. » August 1, 1924: Dazzy Vance strikes out seven Cubs in a row in a 4-0 win for the Dodgers. Vance will lead NL pitchers with 28 wins, a 2.16 ERA, 30 complete games, and 262 strikeouts, as rare a triple crown for a pitcher as the batting version. With Burleigh Grimes's 22-13, Zack Wheat's .375, and Jack Fournier's league-leading 27 HR, the Dodgers will nip at the Giants' heels all season and finish just 1 1/2 games back. » September 24, 1924: Brooklyn's Burleigh Grimes dusts six batters in the first two innings and bests the Cubs, 6–5. Reliever Rip Wheeler takes the loss. 30,000 Brooklyn fans celebrate the team's showing at the 160th Street Regiment Armory where each player receives a gold watch. Manager Robinson predicts that the Robins will overtake the Giants in the next few days. » September 22, 1925: P Burleigh Grimes of Brooklyn has only himself to blame for losing 3–2 to the Cubs in the 12th. While he masterfully scatters 16 hits, he not only goes hitless at the plate but bangs into two double plays and, in the 11th, a triple play. » January 9, 1927: In a 3-way deal, P Burleigh Grimes goes from Brooklyn to the Giants, C Butch Henline goes from Philadelphia to Brooklyn, and Giants 2B Fresco Thompson and P Jack Scott wind up with the Phils. » May 12, 1927: The Giants edge the Cardinals, 3–2, scoring the winning run in the 11th when Taylor Douthit drops a fly ball. Starter Pete Alexander is the loser to Burleigh Grimes. Lester Bell is 0-for-5 with five strike outs for the Birds. » February 11, 1928: The Giants and Pirates swap pitchers: Burleigh Grimes for Vic Aldridge. Grimes, 19–8 with the Giants, will lead the National League in wins in 1928 with 25 after his return to Pittsburgh. Aldridge holds out till May 3, and then will win just four games for New York. » May 5, 1929: The Braves play their first Sunday home game in history, losing to Pittsburgh, 7–2 before 35,000. The winning pitcher is Burleigh Grimes, who helps his own cause by starting a 3rd inning triple play (1-5-2-5-4-2) on a grounder by Al Spohrer. Heinie Mueller is run down, Spohrer is caught trying to reach 2B, and Rabbit Maranville is caught trying to score. The Bucs have four triples, one each by the Waners. » June 16, 1929: The Reds beat Burleigh Grimes, ending the Pirate spitballer's 10-game win streak. He'll finish 17-7, the top Pittsburgh hurler. » April 9, 1930: Burleigh Grimes, veteran spitballer in a contract dispute with the Pirates, is sold to the Boston Braves. Boston later trades Grimes to the Cardinals, the eventual pennant winner. » June 16, 1930: The Cardinals acquire spitball veteran Burleigh Grimes from the Braves for another spitballer, Wee Willie Sherdel, and Fred Frankhouse. » August 10, 1930: In a Sunday doubleheader in St. Louis, 21,000 fans cheer as the Cards sweep two from the first place Dodgers. Burleigh Grimes takes the opener 8–2, despite Babe Herman starting a triple play for Brooklyn. Bill Hallahan K's 12 to win the nitecap 4–0. The 4th place Cards are now nine games behind Brooklyn. » August 29, 1930: In the Cubs' 2nd successive extra-inning game, Pat Malone beats Burleigh Grimes 9–8 in 13 innings to halt the Cardinals' 9-game win streak. With captain Charlie Grimm out of the lineup with a spike wound, the Cubs sign George Kelly, released a month earlier by Reds. » October 1, 1930: The World Series opens with a Wednesday game at Philadelphia's Shibe Park. The defending World Champion Athletics are held to 5 hits by Burleigh Grimes. Lefty Grove limits the Cards to a pair of runs, as the A's capitalize on their power. Their 5 hits include HRs by Mickey Cochrane and Al Simmons, 2 triples and a double, providing Philadelphia with single runs in 5 different innings and a 5-2 victory. » October 6, 1930: The A's take the lead in the Series, 3 games to 2, when George Earnshaw and Lefty Grove combine to shut out the Cardinals, 2-0, on 3 hits. Philadelphia's runs come in the top of the 9th when Burleigh Grimes is tagged for a long 2-run HR by Jimmie Foxx. » September 18, 1931: In a 4–3 loss to the Cardinals, the Giants' Mel Ott is beaned by Burleigh Grimes in the 5th inning. Ott suffers a brain concussion and, with the Cardinals clinching the pennant, he sits out the rest of the season. » October 5, 1931: Because of a Pennsylvania law banning baseball on Sunday, an extra day is added as the Series moves to Philadelphia. Lefty Grove pitches the 3rd game with 3 days rest. However, Burleigh Grimes, who had lost twice to Grove in 1930, has a no-hitter until the 8th inning, winning 5-2. Pepper Martin continues to excite the crowds with 2 more hits, scoring twice. » December 11, 1931: Despite two wins in the World Series, spitball veteran Burleigh Grimes is traded by the Cards to the Cubs for the fallen Hack Wilson. Wilson will be offered just $7,500 reflecting the owner's new austerity drive. Grimes will have three losing seasons in Chicago before calling it quits. » September 10, 1932: Dodger OF Johnny Frederick hits his record 6th pinch-hit home run of the season. It is a dramatic 9th-inning, 2-run shot that beats Burleigh Grimes and the Cubs, 4–3. Frederick's six pinch-hit home runs doubles the previous record of three held by Ham Hyatt in 1913, Cy Williams in 1928, and Pat Crawford in 1929. With just nine pinch-hits altogether, his home run percentage is a ML record. » September 22, 1932: The Cubs announce World Series shares and snub former player-manager Rogers Hornsby. Late-season arrival Mark Koenig gets just a half share. Hornsby appeals to Judge Landis, arguing that he was an active player for two-thirds of the season, and deserved a full share. Landis turns him down. In today's contest, Cubs Burleigh Grimes loses, 7–0, to Hal Smith of the Pirates. It's Hal's first major league start and his only decision of the year. » July 30, 1933: Burleigh Grimes, nine days short of his 40th birthday, is released by the Cubs and signs with the Cardinals. » May 1, 1934: Burleigh Grimes picks up a win as he relieves in the Cardinals 3–2 win over the Reds in eleven innings. The Birds will waive Grimes (2–1) to the Pirates in two weeks. » May 26, 1934: After eleven days and eight appearances with the Pirates, a winded and dry-mouthed Burleigh Grimes is sold to the Yankees. Pittsburgh acquired the spitballer on the 15th from the Cardinals. » May 29, 1934: The Yankees purchase -- rent? -- spitballer Burleigh Grimes from the Pittsburgh Pirates. After 10 apperances with the Yankees, the Yanks will release Grimes on August 8th and the Pirates will pick him back up. » May 30, 1934: Washington's Earl Whitehill pitches a one-hitter, allowing a 9th-inning single by Ben Chapman, to defeat Lefty Gomez of the Yankees 1–0. In the nitecap, Yankee reliever Burleigh Grimes pitches the last four innings to pick up his 269th win, 5–4, in 11 innings. » September 10, 1934: Burleigh Grimes, in his second stint with the Pirates this year, picks up his 270th win, in relief, as the Pirates beat the Giants, 9–7. It is the Hall of Famer's last ML win. » October 11, 1934: Burleigh Grimes is released by the Pirates. He is the last official spitball pitcher. » November 5, 1936: Burleigh Grimes is named manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, replacing Casey Stengel, who was fired last month. » October 10, 1938: Burleigh Grimes is dismissed as Dodgers manager. Leo Durocher will be named as his replacement 2 days later. » February 2, 1964: The Hall of Fame Special Veterans Committee tabs Red Faber, Burleigh Grimes, Tim Keefe, Heinie Manush, John Montgomery Ward, and Miller Huggins for induction, the biggest veterans class ever. Keefe and Ward were teammates and brothers-in-law, with Ward married to the famous actress Helen Dauvrey and Keefe married to her sister Clara Gibson.