1907
Born September 12, 1907
Commerce, GA, USA
Spud Chandler Marquee
b. September 12, 1907 · New York Yankees 1937–1947
In 1943 he won 20 and lost 4 with a 1.64 earned run average, 20 complete games and five shutouts, and was the Most Valuable Player. He then won two games of the World Series, including the fifth, a complete-game shutout that finished the Cardinals.
He was 109-43 for his career, a winning percentage of .717. Only Al Spalding, pitching in the 1870s, and Ray Brown of the Homestead Grays are higher among pitchers with 100 wins. He never played for another club and never had a losing season.
He did not reach the major leagues until he was twenty-nine and lost two seasons to the Army in the middle. Eleven seasons, four All-Star selections, and a 2.84 earned run average. Five writers' ballots gave him no more than six votes. He died in 1990, at eighty-two.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 4 | 1942, 1943, 1946, 1947 |
| Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2 | 1942, 1943 |
| Most Valuable Player | 1 | 1943 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 1943 |
| The Sporting News Guide Most Valuable Player | 1 | 1943 |
| The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year | 1 | 1943 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | NYY | 12 | 30 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 0 | .133 |
| 1938 | NYY | 23 | 69 | 10 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 23 | 0 | .203 |
| 1939 | NYY | 11 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .400 |
| 1940 | NYY | 27 | 60 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 31 | 0 | .150 |
| 1941 | NYY | 28 | 60 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 0 | .183 |
| 1942 | NYY | 24 | 71 | 6 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 0 | .211 |
| 1943 | NYY | 30 | 97 | 9 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 22 | 0 | .258 |
| 1944 | NYY | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1945 | NYY | 4 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .333 |
| 1946 | NYY | 34 | 94 | 9 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 0 | .149 |
| 1947 | NYY | 17 | 49 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 0 | .245 |
| Career | — | 211 | 548 | 53 | 110 | 18 | 2 | 9 | 45 | 20 | 154 | 0 | .201 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | NYY | 7 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 82.1 | 79 | 26 | 20 | 31 | 2.84 |
| 1938 | NYY | 14 | 5 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 172.0 | 183 | 77 | 47 | 36 | 4.03 |
| 1939 | NYY | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 19.0 | 26 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 2.84 |
| 1940 | NYY | 8 | 7 | 27 | 24 | 0 | 172.0 | 184 | 88 | 60 | 56 | 4.60 |
| 1941 | NYY | 10 | 4 | 28 | 20 | 4 | 163.2 | 146 | 58 | 60 | 60 | 3.19 |
| 1942 | NYY | 16 | 5 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 200.2 | 176 | 53 | 74 | 74 | 2.38 |
| 1943 | NYY | 20 | 4 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 253.0 | 197 | 46 | 54 | 134 | 1.64 |
| 1944 | NYY | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4.50 |
| 1945 | NYY | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 31.0 | 30 | 16 | 7 | 12 | 4.65 |
| 1946 | NYY | 20 | 8 | 34 | 32 | 2 | 257.1 | 200 | 60 | 90 | 138 | 2.10 |
| 1947 | NYY | 9 | 5 | 17 | 16 | 0 | 128.0 | 100 | 35 | 41 | 68 | 2.46 |
| Career | — | 109 | 43 | 211 | 184 | 6 | 1485.0 | 1327 | 468 | 463 | 614 | 2.84 |
On this day & linked events
1990
Died January 9, 1990
1937
Major-league debut: Spud Chandler
Spud Chandler made a major-league debut on May 6, 1937.
1947
Final major-league game: Spud Chandler
Spud Chandler played a final major-league game on September 26, 1947.
Image: Play Ball cards, published by Bowman Gum, public domain