Pete Appleton Marquee

He pitched under the name Appleton, his mother's maiden name, for reasons he never fully explained publicly. He went 1-9 for Cincinnati as a twenty-two-year-old rookie in 1927 and did not have a winning season for nearly a decade afterward, bouncing among six organizations.

Washington gave him a rotation spot in 1936 and he went 14-9 there, his best season, at thirty-two — the reward for years spent mostly in middling roles. Fourteen seasons gave him 87 wins against 91, a 4.30 earned run average, 1,141 innings and 26 saves across 420 appearances.

He pitched for seven clubs across the 1920s, 1930s and into the 1940s and finished with St. Louis in 1945 at forty. He scouted for the Yankees for decades afterward, signing future stars. No Hall of Fame ballot ever listed him. He died in 1974, at sixty-nine.