1905
Born October 24, 1905
Paris, TX, USA
Jack Russell Marquee
b. October 24, 1905 · Boston Red Sox 1926–1932, 1936, Cleveland Indians 1932, Washington Senators 1933–1936, Detroit Tigers 1937, Chicago Cubs 1938–1939, St. Louis Cardinals 1940
He lost 18 games in 1929, 20 in 1930 and 18 in 1931 for Boston clubs that finished last every year, and he ended his career 85-141. Then Washington got him in 1933 and put him in the bullpen: 12-6 with a 2.69 earned run average and 13 saves, the most in the league, for the club that won the pennant. He was an All-Star the following season.
Fifteen seasons gave him 2,050 innings, 71 complete games, 38 saves and a 4.46 earned run average, split between starting for bad clubs and relieving for better ones. He led the American League in saves in 1933 and 1934, when the statistic did not exist.
He settled in Clearwater, Florida, served on the city commission, and pushed through the ballpark that the Phillies used for spring training for fifty years. It was named Jack Russell Stadium in 1955, while he was still on the commission. He died in 1990, at eighty-five.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 1 | 1934 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | BOS | 36 | 21 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .190 |
| 1927 | BOS | 35 | 48 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 0 | .125 |
| 1928 | BOS | 35 | 62 | 5 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 0 | .210 |
| 1929 | BOS | 37 | 70 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 0 | .129 |
| 1930 | BOS | 41 | 79 | 12 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 31 | 0 | .177 |
| 1931 | BOS | 41 | 82 | 12 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 28 | 1 | .195 |
| 1932 | BOS/CLE | 31 | 51 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 0 | .255 |
| 1933 | WSH | 50 | 34 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 0 | .147 |
| 1934 | WSH | 54 | 44 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 0 | .159 |
| 1935 | WSH | 43 | 35 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 0 | .200 |
| 1936 | BOS/WSH | 41 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .091 |
| 1937 | DET | 25 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| 1938 | CHC | 42 | 32 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 0 | .219 |
| 1939 | CHC | 43 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 |
| 1940 | STL | 26 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .000 |
| Career | — | 580 | 617 | 65 | 103 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 40 | 36 | 213 | 1 | .167 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | BOS | 0 | 5 | 36 | 5 | 0 | 98.0 | 94 | 39 | 24 | 17 | 3.58 |
| 1927 | BOS | 4 | 9 | 34 | 15 | 0 | 147.0 | 172 | 67 | 40 | 25 | 4.10 |
| 1928 | BOS | 11 | 14 | 32 | 26 | 0 | 201.1 | 233 | 86 | 41 | 27 | 3.84 |
| 1929 | BOS | 6 | 18 | 35 | 32 | 0 | 227.1 | 263 | 99 | 40 | 37 | 3.92 |
| 1930 | BOS | 9 | 20 | 35 | 30 | 0 | 229.2 | 302 | 139 | 53 | 35 | 5.45 |
| 1931 | BOS | 10 | 18 | 36 | 31 | 0 | 232.0 | 298 | 133 | 65 | 45 | 5.16 |
| 1932 | BOS/CLE | 6 | 14 | 29 | 17 | 1 | 152.2 | 207 | 89 | 42 | 34 | 5.25 |
| 1933 | WSH | 12 | 6 | 50 | 3 | 13 | 124.0 | 119 | 37 | 32 | 28 | 2.69 |
| 1934 | WSH | 5 | 10 | 54 | 9 | 7 | 157.2 | 179 | 73 | 56 | 38 | 4.17 |
| 1935 | WSH | 4 | 9 | 43 | 7 | 3 | 126.0 | 170 | 80 | 37 | 30 | 5.71 |
| 1936 | BOS/WSH | 3 | 5 | 41 | 7 | 3 | 89.2 | 123 | 60 | 41 | 15 | 6.02 |
| 1937 | DET | 2 | 5 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 40.1 | 63 | 34 | 20 | 10 | 7.59 |
| 1938 | CHC | 6 | 1 | 42 | 0 | 3 | 102.1 | 100 | 38 | 30 | 29 | 3.34 |
| 1939 | CHC | 4 | 3 | 39 | 0 | 3 | 68.2 | 78 | 28 | 24 | 32 | 3.67 |
| 1940 | STL | 3 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 54.0 | 53 | 15 | 26 | 16 | 2.50 |
| Career | — | 85 | 141 | 557 | 182 | 38 | 2050.2 | 2454 | 1017 | 571 | 418 | 4.46 |
On this day & linked events
1990
Died November 3, 1990
1926
Major-league debut: Jack Russell
Jack Russell made a major-league debut on May 5, 1926.
1940
Final major-league game: Jack Russell
Jack Russell played a final major-league game on August 7, 1940.
Image: Goudey, public domain