Books and articles about Dick Rudolph

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Submissions »Baseball's Miracle Boys: The 1914 Boston Braves' Comeback: Still the Greatest in Baseball History by Zack Triscuit Around the Web »Dick Rudolph from baseball-reference.com RELATED LINKS » 1914: The Miracle in Boston » Jump directly to Library content from any website!

With Bill James and Lefty Tyler, spitballer Dick Rudolph rotated in a trio that pitched the 1914 Braves from last place on July 4 to the pennant. Rudolph paced the staff with 27 wins (tying him for the NL lead with Grover Alexander) and added two more in the World Series as the Braves swept the Athletics in four games. Rudolph was one of those allowed to continue using the spitter after 1919, though he was never successful again. After baseball, Rudolph became a'Xh)''mortician. (JK)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » September 12, 1910: At Toronto, Dick Rudolph of Toronto (Eastern League) pitches 10 hitless innings over Montreal. Rudolph wins in 12 innings, 2-1. » June 12, 1913: With runners on 1B and 2B in the 9th, the Reds Marty Berghammer lines into a triple play against Boston's Dick Rudolph to end the game. » July 21, 1914: Dick Rudolph throws a 3-hitter to give the Braves their second straight whitewash of the Pirates, winning 6–0. Rudolph will end the year with 27, victories, tied with Alexander; one of his credited wins is a game in which he started and left after three innings. The Braves move ahead of the Reds and Phils into 4th place. » August 17, 1914: The Braves sweep two from the Reds, winning 11–1 behind Dick Rudolph and 5–3 with Bill James on the mound. » October 9, 1914: The Boston Braves go into the World Series as underdogs, despite their strong finish. Only one regular, LF Joe Connolly, hit .300. Their strengths are pitchers Dick Rudolph, George "Lefty" Tyler, and "Seattle Bill" James, 2B Johnny Evers, who wins Chalmers' final MVP automobile, and SS Rabbit Maranville, their cleanup hitter. The Philadelphia A's Eddie Collins, with a .344 BA, wins the Chalmers AL award with 63 of 64 possible points. The A's have seven pitchers with 10 or more wins, led by Chief Bender's 17–3. Bender's World Series magic is quickly dispelled as the Braves knock him out in the 6th. Rudolph coasts to a 5-hit 7–1 victory. Hank Gowdy has a single, double, and triple. He will hit a World Series record .545, and Evers, .438. Only Babe Ruth will top Gowdy with .625 in 1928. Bender makes his last World Series appearance, finishing with a record 59 strikeouts. » October 13, 1914: The first World Series sweep in history belongs to the Braves—the only World Series the franchise will ever win. Bob Shawkey and Herb Pennock allow just six hits, but one is a 2-run single by Johnny Evers, as Dick Rudolph wins 3–1. » April 14, 1915: In Boston, Pete Alexander stops the world champion Braves, 3–0, as the Phillies beat Dick Rudolph. Bill James, the Braves' other star from the World Series, is in California recovering from an illness incurred in Hawaii during the all-star world trip. James' career is virtually over. » August 13, 1915: Grover Cleveland Alexander wins his 20th, 5–3, as the Phillies beat Boston's Dick Rudolph. » August 18, 1915: The new Braves Field opens in Boston. An estimated 46,500 jam the park to see the Braves and Dick Rudolph beat the Cards, 3–1. » September 29, 1915: In Boston, the Phils clinch their first pennant on Grover Alexander's 4th one-hitter and 12th shutout of the year, 5–0 beating Dick Rudolph and the defending champion Braves. Sherry Magee's 4th-inning single is the only safety for Boston, while Gavvy Cravath clouts a 3-run homer in the 1st for the Phils. Cravath ends the year leading the NL in homers (24), slugging, runs, walks, total bases, and is the only National Leaguer with more than a hundred RBIs (115). » April 18, 1916: Phillies star Pete Alexander blanks the Braves on five hits at Baker Bowl to win 4–0. Dick Rudolph takes the loss. It is Pete's first shutout of the year; 15 will follow. » May 29, 1916: Christy Mathewson beats the Braves 3–0 for the Giants' 17th consecutive win on the road. Matty gives up just four singles in beating Dick Rudolph. New York is only one 1/2 games behind the leading Dodgers. » 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. » May 3, 1923: Pirates 1B Charlie Grimm starts a 25-game hitting streak that will be stopped by Dick Rudolph, the 1914 Braves hero, who comes off the coaching lines to make four starts for Boston. » May 17, 1923: The Braves Dick Rudolph wins 1–0 over Pittsburgh's Wilbur Cooper in 10 innings. This is the only win of the year for the 35-year-old coach. He stops Charlie Grimm's 25-game hit streak. » May 25, 2001: Greg Maddux becomes the first Brave pitcher since Dick Rudolph in 1916 to throw two 1-0 shutouts in the same month as he whips the Pirates, 1–0. Maddux beat the Brewers, 1–0 on May 2. Rafael Furcal's RBI single off Todd Ritchie (0–6) is the winner. The Bucs waste a chance in the 8th when they have three singles, but two runners are caught stealing.