Books and articles about Sad Sam Jones

Sad Sam's 22 consecutive seasons pitching in one league (the American) is a ML record shared with Herb Pennock, Early Wynn, Red Ruffing, and Steve Carlton. The native Ohioan was sent from Cleveland to the Red Sox in a 1916 trade for Tris Speaker, who was in his prime. In 1918, Jones's first season in a starting rotation, he went 16-5 (league-best .762 winning percentage). He won 23 games for the fifth-place 1921 Red Sox, with a league-high five shutouts. But his finest seasons may have been 1923, when he was 21-8 as the Yankees' ace, hurling a September 4 no-hitter against the Athletics and leading New York to their first World Championship. His relief work in the final game of the Series clinched it for the Yanks.

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Bill McGeehan of the New York Herald-Tribune dubbed him Sad Sam because, to him, Jones looked downcast on the field. Jones told Lawrence Ritter that the reason he looked downcast was because, "I would always wear my cap down real low over my eyes. And the sportswriters were more used to fellows like Waite Hoyt, who'd always wear their caps way up so they wouldn't miss any pretty girls." Jones' sharp-breaking curve also earned him the name Horsewhips Sam. Like most pitchers of his day, Jones relieved as well as started, and his eight saves in 1922 led the AL. He lost a league-high 21 in 1925 as the Yanks dropped to seventh. Waived from St. Louis to Washington in 1927, Jones rebounded to top the 1928 Senators' staff with a 17-7 record. His 15-7 finish in 1930 marked his last outstanding season. (EW)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » July 24, 1915: In the 9th inning of game two of a twinbill with Cleveland, the A's Nap Lajoie lines into a triple play against Sam Jones to end the game (as noted by Jim Smith and Herm Krabbenhoft). » April 12, 1916: The Red Sox trade star outfielder Tris Speaker, who did not take to the notion of his salary being cut, to Cleveland for two players -- Sam Jones and Fred Thomas -- and $50,000. Speaker will hold out for $10,000 of the purchase price: Ban Johnson will finally intervene and Speaker will collect. A few days earlier, the Yankees had turned down the offer of Speaker for cash and Fritz Maisel. » August 28, 1921: At Chicago, Boston's Sam Jones wins his 20th game, beating the White Sox, 6–5, in 11 innings. » December 20, 1921: The Yankees raid Boston again, and come away with P Bullet Joe Bush, SS Everett Scott, and P Sad Sam Jones in exchange for SS Roger Peckinpaugh (who goes on to Washington), pitchers Jack Quinn, Rip Collins, and Bill Piercy, and $50,000. » April 12, 1922: President Warren Harding throws out the first ball in Washington, and the Senators beat the Yankees 6–5. Former Yank George Mogridge starts for the Nats against Sam Jones, making his Yankee debut, as rookie manager Clyde Milan passes over Walter Johnson as starting pitcher. The Nats star has been ill most of the spring. Both Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel are out of the Yankee lineup, suspended by the league for barnstorming, and the Babe watches the game from the presidential box. Washington outhits New York, 15–9, and comes from behind to win in the 8th. » May 20, 1922: Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel (and since-traded pitcher Bill Piercy), suspended on October 16, 1921, by Judge Landis, are reinstated and return to the New York lineup going hitless in New York's 8–2 loss to the rallying Browns at the Polo Grounds. The Browns, down 2–0 after 7, score one in the 8th and seven in the 9th, six of them coming after the game-ending out is called by ump Ollie Chill at first base. Pitcher Sam Jones, taking the throw at 1B from Wally Pipp, apparently makes the 3rd out and fans swarm the field. But Jones does not hold onto the ball cleanly and plate ump Brick Owens instructs Chill to make a safe call. The tying run scores on the play and, when the action resumes 15 minutes later, Wally Gerber singles to make the score 3–2. Walks to Sisler and Williams force home another run, and Baby Doll Jacobson clears the bases with a grand slam into the RF stands to complete the scoring. Winner Urban Shocker allows just three hits, including a two-run homer by second baseman Aaron Ward. The loss to Jones starts him on a 10-game losing streak, while a cold Ban Johnson will let umpire Ollie Chill go after the season. » July 28, 1922: The Yanks move back into first when Sad Sam Jones beats Ray Kolp, 7–3. Kolp lasts just two innings before Bill Bayne takes over for the final seven and allows two runs. Ken Williams hits his 23rd but Whitey Witt counters with a 3-run home run. » September 4, 1923: Yankee Sam Jones no-hits the Athletics, 2–0, beating Bob Hasty. Babe Ruth makes the only strikeout of the game as he slips a point behind Detroit's Harry Heilmann in the batting race. Not till Ken Holtzman's no-hitter in 1969, will another pitcher record a no-hitter with no strikeouts. » September 28, 1923: Three weeks after both pitchers have thrown no-hitters versus the A's, Sam Jones of the Yankees and Howard Ehmke (20–17) of the Red Sox clash. It is not Ehmke's day; he is routed after facing a record 16 batters in an 11-run 6th inning, as manager Frank Chance declines to relieve his ace in mid-inning. The Yankees beat the Red Sox 24–4 with 30 hits in 55 at bats, both American League records. Ruth is 5-for-6 in the game with two doubles and his 28th home run, Wally Schang adds five hits, and Lou Gehrig four hits, including three doubles. » October 12, 1923: Yankee Stadium fills with 62,430 fans to see an old-fashioned pitching duel. Once again a Stengel home run is the difference, as Art Nehf (13-10) bests Sam Jones (21-8) 1–0 in game 3. » October 15, 1923: After Babe Ruth's first-inning home run, the Giants peck away at Herb Pennock for four runs and take a 4–1 lead into the 8th. With one out, Art Nehf loads the bases on two singles and a walk, then walks in a run. Reliever Rosy Ryan forces in another run with a walk to Joe Dugan. Ruth strikes out, but Bob Meusel raps a single that scores the go-ahead runs. Sam Jones holds off the Giants, and the Yankees have their first World Championship. » May 6, 1925: Ty Cobb belts two more homers, off Dave Danforth and Chester Falk, giving him five round trippers in two days, tying Cap Anson's 1884 feat. His 1st inning single gives him nine straight hits, and two other drives in the game are barely caught. His six RBIs lead the Tigers to a 11–4 clawing of the Browns. Mickey Cochrane hits his 1st ML home run, off Sam Jones. » February 8, 1927: Sad Sam Jones departs the Yankees for St. Louis, traded for P Joe Giard and OF Cedric Durst. Sam will be 8–14 in his only season in St. Louis. » September 30, 1928: In Washington's 9–1 win over the Browns, Washington OF Goose Goslin, for the 3rd day in a row, gets two hits, one a 9th inning looping single, to edge the Browns OF Heinie Manush .379 to .378. It is Goose's only batting title in his 18-year career. Nats' ace Sam Jones volunteers to pitch to stop Manush, while Blaeholder tries the same for St. Louis. Blaeholder gets Goslin in his first two at bats, but Goose then hits a 5th inning home run. » December 4, 1931: Bump Hadley, Jackie Hayes, and Sad Sam Jones are traded from Washington to the White Sox for Carl Reynolds and John Kerr. » September 13, 1933: The Sox toss their vets at the A's and almost pull off a sweep. Sam Jones, 41, tops Philadelphia, 3–2 in the opener, but the Mackmen then beat 44-year-old Red Faber, 4–2, in the nitecap. » November 6, 1935: P Sad Sam Jones, after 21 successive but not always successful American League seasons, is released by the Chicago White Sox. » August 19, 1969: Cub Ken Holtzman (14-7) pitches the 5th no-hitter of 1969. Ron Santo's 3-run home run off Phil Niekro provides first-place Chicago with a 3–0 win against Atlanta. Holtzman is the first no-hit hurler with no strikeouts since Sam Jones (on September 4, 1923). LF Billy Williams, with his back against the vines, hauls in Aaron's drive in the 7th to preserve the no-hitter. » April 2, 2002: In beating the Padres, 9–0, the Diamondbacks became the first defending World Champions to open the season with back-to-back shutouts since the 1919 Red Sox. The Red Sox shutouts were thrown by Carl Mays and Sad Sam Jones. The last team to start the year with consecutive shutouts was the 1994 Giants. Schilling is the winner today, following Randy Johnson's 2–0 two–hitter yesterday over the Padres. The D'backs get all nine runs off Brian Tollberg, who leaves after two 2/3 innings. Damian Miller has a grand slam. Before the game the Diamondbacks receive their World Series rings: Curt Schilling's son, Gehrig, accepts for him.