Books and articles about Jack Harper

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Called up for his first major league start at age 21, Harper halted the National League-record 24-game losing streak of the 1899 Cleveland Spiders by winning 5-4. When the NL was cut from twelve teams to eight in 1900, he was transferred to the Cardinals, for whom he went 23-13 in 1901, finishing second in the NL in wins and winning percentage. After two more average years, he again won 23 (losing 9) with a career-low 2.37 ERA for the Reds and was third in the NL in wins and winning percentage. After missing most of 1906 with a finger injury and bone chips in his elbow, he was traded to the Cubs in October. A holdout the following year ended his major league career. (NLM)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » August 19, 1901: At St. Louis, the Pirates knock out the NL's leading pitcher Jack Harper (21-8) in the 3rd en route to a 9-5 win. Harper, 21-7 at the start of the day, will end up at 23-13. » June 30, 1902: Cleveland is the first AL team to hit three consecutive HRs in one inning as Nap Lajoie, Piano Legs Hickman, and Bill Bradley connect in the sixth off St. Louis, with all the hits ending in the LF bleachers at St. Louis. The last two come on the first pitch thrown. Jack Harper tees up the gopher balls in the 17-2 loss. It was last done on May 10, 1894. » May 30, 1904: In an a.m.-p.m. doubleheader in Cincinnati, the first-place Cubs take on the 3rd place Reds, with just a few percentage points separating the team. The two split the holiday twin bill, the Reds taking the opener 7-4, despite a 9th-inning grand slam by Davy Jones. The Reds then lose, 5-2. Frank Chance of the Cubs is the real loser as he is hit three times by P Jack Harper of the Reds in the morning game, once reportedly losing consciousness when hit in the head. He continues to play and in the 2nd game, he is hit once by Win Kellum, giving him a record four hit by pitched balls for the day. Carl Lundgren loses the opener, while the deliberate Bob Wicker takes the night cap. Historian Joe Dittmar notes that beginning in the 7th inning the Reds fans begin counting aloud "1, 2, 3, 4. . . " when Wicker receives the ball. The Enquirer reports that the count would sometimes reach 15 before he would pitch. » June 4, 1904: At the Polo Grounds, the largest baseball crowd ever (37,223) cheers Iron Joe McGinnity, trying for his 14th straight win, against Cincinnati's Jack Harper. The game ends in a 2-2 deadlock after 11 innings. » September 21, 1904: The Reds sweep the Giants, winning 6-4 and 2-0 to stall the Giants clinching of the flag. The Reds rough up Christy Mathewson in the opener and Jack Harper scatters five hits for the shutout. New York has lost three in a row for the first time this season. » April 15, 1905: At Cincinnati, the Reds lose to the Pirates, 9-4, with Pat Flaherty beating Jack Harper. » June 6, 1906: Jack Harper, making his first pitching appearance for the Cubs after being traded by the Reds for Chick Fraser, retires all three Giant batters he faces, but is hit on his pitching hand by a line drive off the bat of the 3rd hitter, Dan McGann. Harper is lifted for pinch hitter Johnny Kling in the 2nd inning and never pitches again. The Cubs, on their way to a record 116 wins, top the Giants 11-3: Harper also pitched for the losingest team, the 1899 Cleveland Spiders.