1927
Born December 7, 1927
Boston, MA, USA
Dick Donovan Marquee
b. December 7, 1927 · Boston Braves 1950–1952, Detroit Tigers 1954, Chicago White Sox 1955–1960, Washington Senators 1961, Cleveland Indians 1962–1965
He went 20-10 for Cleveland in 1962 at thirty-four and led the American League with five shutouts, and was chosen for the last of his three All-Star teams. He had gone 16-6 for the 1957 White Sox and finished second in the Cy Young voting, when one award covered both leagues.
Fifteen seasons gave him 122 wins against 99, a 3.67 earned run average, 2,017 innings, 101 complete games and 25 shutouts. He also hit 15 home runs and drew 78 walks as a batter, which pitchers of the 1950s did not.
He was from Quincy, Massachusetts, and had spent five years in the minor leagues after the Braves gave up on him. He was an original Washington Senator in the 1961 expansion and led the league in earned run average that year. He died in 1997, at sixty-nine, and no Hall of Fame ballot listed him.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 3 | 1955, 1961, 1962 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 1962 |
| The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year | 1 | 1962 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | BSN | 10 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | .167 |
| 1951 | BSN | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .333 |
| 1952 | BSN | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 |
| 1954 | DET | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 1955 | CHW | 40 | 76 | 10 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 26 | 0 | .224 |
| 1956 | CHW | 44 | 90 | 10 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 14 | 30 | 0 | .222 |
| 1957 | CHW | 30 | 83 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 32 | 0 | .145 |
| 1958 | CHW | 34 | 80 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 33 | 0 | .113 |
| 1959 | CHW | 31 | 61 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 32 | 0 | .131 |
| 1960 | CHW | 33 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 0 | .130 |
| 1961 | WSA | 24 | 56 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 23 | 0 | .179 |
| 1962 | CLE | 34 | 89 | 8 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 32 | 0 | .180 |
| 1963 | CLE | 31 | 69 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 31 | 0 | .130 |
| 1964 | CLE | 31 | 48 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 27 | 0 | .146 |
| 1965 | CLE | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 |
| Career | — | 371 | 694 | 67 | 113 | 14 | 0 | 15 | 64 | 78 | 292 | 0 | .163 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | BSN | 0 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 29.2 | 28 | 27 | 34 | 9 | 8.19 |
| 1951 | BSN | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 13.2 | 17 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 5.27 |
| 1952 | BSN | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 13.0 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 5.54 |
| 1954 | DET | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 10.50 |
| 1955 | CHW | 15 | 9 | 29 | 24 | 0 | 187.0 | 186 | 69 | 48 | 88 | 3.32 |
| 1956 | CHW | 12 | 10 | 34 | 31 | 0 | 234.2 | 212 | 95 | 59 | 120 | 3.64 |
| 1957 | CHW | 16 | 6 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 220.2 | 203 | 68 | 45 | 88 | 2.77 |
| 1958 | CHW | 15 | 14 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 248.0 | 240 | 83 | 53 | 127 | 3.01 |
| 1959 | CHW | 9 | 10 | 31 | 29 | 0 | 179.2 | 171 | 73 | 58 | 71 | 3.66 |
| 1960 | CHW | 6 | 1 | 33 | 8 | 3 | 78.2 | 87 | 47 | 25 | 30 | 5.38 |
| 1961 | WSA | 10 | 10 | 23 | 22 | 0 | 168.2 | 138 | 45 | 35 | 62 | 2.40 |
| 1962 | CLE | 20 | 10 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 250.2 | 255 | 100 | 47 | 94 | 3.59 |
| 1963 | CLE | 11 | 13 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 206.0 | 211 | 97 | 28 | 84 | 4.24 |
| 1964 | CLE | 7 | 9 | 30 | 23 | 1 | 158.1 | 181 | 80 | 29 | 83 | 4.55 |
| 1965 | CLE | 1 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 22.2 | 32 | 15 | 6 | 12 | 5.96 |
| Career | — | 122 | 99 | 345 | 273 | 5 | 2017.1 | 1988 | 822 | 495 | 880 | 3.67 |
On this day & linked events
1997
Died January 6, 1997
1950
Major-league debut: Dick Donovan
Dick Donovan made a major-league debut on April 24, 1950.
1965
Final major-league game: Dick Donovan
Dick Donovan played a final major-league game on June 12, 1965.
Image: Unknown author Unknown, public domain