1883
Born September 5, 1883
Trenton, IL, USA
Lefty Leifield Marquee
b. September 5, 1883 · Pittsburgh Pirates 1905–1912, Chicago Cubs 1912–1913, St. Louis Browns 1918–1920
He went 18-13 with a 1.87 earned run average in his first full season, 20-16 the year after, and 19-8 for the Pittsburgh club that won 110 games and the 1909 World Series. Eight shutouts in 1906 and six in 1907 started a total that reached 33.
Twelve seasons gave him 124 wins against 97, a 2.47 earned run average, 1,838 innings and 138 complete games. Almost all of it was Pittsburgh: 1905 through the middle of 1912, seven straight seasons of 26 or more starts.
He was out of the majors after 1913, came back with the St. Louis Browns in 1918 at thirty-four, and pitched two more years. He coached in the major leagues into the 1920s. No Hall of Fame ballot ever listed him. He died in 1970, at eighty-seven.
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1905 | PIT | 8 | 20 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 0 | .350 |
| 1906 | PIT | 37 | 88 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 1 | .125 |
| 1907 | PIT | 40 | 102 | 5 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 0 | .147 |
| 1908 | PIT | 34 | 75 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 2 | .227 |
| 1909 | PIT | 32 | 73 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 25 | 1 | .192 |
| 1910 | PIT | 40 | 60 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 0 | .183 |
| 1911 | PIT | 43 | 102 | 12 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 17 | 1 | .235 |
| 1912 | CHC/PIT | 19 | 33 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 0 | .121 |
| 1913 | CHC | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 |
| 1918 | SLB | 15 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | .053 |
| 1919 | SLB | 19 | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | .100 |
| 1920 | SLB | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| Career | — | 298 | 611 | 46 | 107 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 30 | 48 | 138 | 5 | .175 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1905 | PIT | 5 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 56.0 | 52 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 2.89 |
| 1906 | PIT | 18 | 13 | 37 | 31 | 1 | 255.2 | 214 | 53 | 68 | 111 | 1.87 |
| 1907 | PIT | 20 | 16 | 40 | 33 | 1 | 286.0 | 270 | 74 | 100 | 112 | 2.33 |
| 1908 | PIT | 15 | 14 | 34 | 26 | 2 | 218.2 | 168 | 51 | 86 | 87 | 2.10 |
| 1909 | PIT | 19 | 8 | 32 | 26 | 0 | 201.2 | 172 | 53 | 54 | 43 | 2.37 |
| 1910 | PIT | 15 | 13 | 40 | 30 | 2 | 218.1 | 197 | 64 | 67 | 64 | 2.64 |
| 1911 | PIT | 16 | 16 | 42 | 37 | 1 | 318.0 | 301 | 93 | 82 | 111 | 2.63 |
| 1912 | CHC/PIT | 8 | 4 | 19 | 10 | 0 | 94.1 | 97 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 2.86 |
| 1913 | CHC | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 21.1 | 28 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 5.48 |
| 1918 | SLB | 2 | 6 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 67.0 | 61 | 19 | 19 | 22 | 2.55 |
| 1919 | SLB | 6 | 4 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 92.0 | 96 | 30 | 25 | 18 | 2.93 |
| 1920 | SLB | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7.00 |
| Career | — | 124 | 97 | 296 | 216 | 7 | 1838.0 | 1673 | 505 | 554 | 616 | 2.47 |
On this day & linked events
1970
Died October 10, 1970
1905
Major-league debut: Lefty Leifield
Lefty Leifield made a major-league debut on September 3, 1905.
1920
Final major-league game: Lefty Leifield
Lefty Leifield played a final major-league game on September 24, 1920.
Image: Unknown author Unknown, public domain