Adrian "Addie" Joss (April 12, 1880 – April 14, 1911), nicknamed "the Human Hairpin", was an American professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Cleveland Bronchos of Major League Baseball, later known as the Naps, between 1902 and 1910. Joss, who was and weighed , pitched the fourth perfect game in baseball history (which, additionally, was only the second of the modern era). His 1.89 career earned run average (ERA) is the second-lowest in MLB history, behind Ed Walsh, while his career WHIP of 0.968 is the lowest of all-time.
Joss was born and raised in Wisconsin, where he attended St. Mary's College (later part of Wyalusing Academy) in Prairie du Chien and the University of Wisconsin. He played baseball at St. Mary's and then played in a semipro league where he caught the attention of Connie Mack. Joss did not sign with Mack's team, but he attracted further major league interest after winning 19 games in 1900 for the Toledo Mud Hens. Joss had another strong season for Toledo in 1901.
After an offseason contract dispute between Joss, Toledo and Cleveland, he debuted with the Cleveland club in April 1902. Joss led the league in shutouts that year. By 1905, Joss had completed the first of his four consecutive 20-win seasons. Off the field, Joss worked as a newspaper sportswriter from 1906 until his death. In 1908, he pitched a perfect game during a tight pennant race that saw Cleveland finish a half-game out of first place; it was the closest that Joss came to a World Series berth. The 1910 season was his last, and Joss missed most of the year due to injury.
In April 1911, Joss became ill and he died the same month due to tuberculous meningitis. He finished his career with 160 wins, 234 complete games, 45 shutouts and 920 strikeouts. Though Joss played only nine seasons and missed significant playing time due to various ailments, the National Baseball Hall of Fame's Board of Directors passed a special resolution for Joss in 1977 that waived the typical ten-year minimum playing career for Hall of Fame eligibility and he was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1978.
Early life
Addie Joss was born on April 12, 1880, in Woodland, Dodge County, Wisconsin.<!-- 27 Men Out gives birthplace as Juneau, Wisconsin --> His parents Jacob and Theresa (née Staudenmeyer) were farmers; his father, a cheesemaker who was involved in local politics, had emigrated from Switzerland. A heavy drinker of alcohol, he died from liver complications in 1890, when Joss was 10 years old; Joss remained sober throughout his life as a result of his father's death. Joss attended elementary school in Juneau and Portage and high school at Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. By age 16 he finished high school and began teaching himself. He was offered a scholarship to attend St. Mary's College (also known as Sacred Heart College) in Watertown, where he played on the school's baseball team. Officials in Watertown were impressed with the quality of play of St. Mary's and put the team on a semipro circuit. He started the Mud Hens' season opener on April 28 and earned the win in the team's 16–8 victory. He became known as "the god of the Western League." Joss finished his major league debut with a one-hitter.
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Joss compiled a 17–13 record and 2.77 ERA during his major league rookie season. He led the American League with five shutouts.
1908 season and perfect game
Before the 1908 season started, the Naps' home field, League Park, was expanded by about 4,000 seats. The Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and Naps were engaged in a race for the postseason described as "one of the closest and most exciting known." Game attendance was announced at 10,598, which was labeled by sportswriter Franklin Lewis as an "excellent turnout for a weekday." Walsh, blistering through his own 39 win season, struck out 15 batters, gave up only one base on balls and allowed only four scattered hits by the Naps. Fans swarmed the field. After the game, Joss said, "I never could have done it without Larry Lajoie's and Stovall's fielding and without Birmingham's base running. Walsh was marvelous with his spitter, and we needed two lucky strikes to win." His season-ending WHIP of .806 is the fifth-lowest single-season mark in MLB history. The Naps finished with a 90–64 record, a half-game behind Detroit. It was the closest Joss ever got to a World Series appearance.
Joss pitched a second no-hitter, on April 20, 1910, against the White Sox, becoming the first pitcher in MLB history to no-hit the same team twice, a feat not matched until Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants no-hit the San Diego Padres in both 2013 and 2014. In the second inning, the White Sox' Freddy Parent hit a ball toward third base. Bill Bradley failed to field the ball cleanly and thus his throw to first base was not in time to get Parent out. The initial ruling on the field was a base hit but it was later changed to an error. Joss gave up two walks and recorded 10 assists. The Naps finished 71–82. In his final major league season, Joss finished with a 5–5 record in innings. The Naps finished the year 71–81. This marked the fifth time in Joss' nine years that the franchise finished with a losing record.
Career marks
Of Joss' 160 major league wins, 45 were shutouts. Joss' 1.89 career ERA is ranked second all-time (to Ed Walsh), while his 0.97 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) is the lowest career WHIP in MLB history. He finished with a 160–97 record, 234 complete games, and 920 strikeouts.
Joss' repertoire included a fastball, a "slow ball" (today known as a changeup), and an "extremely effective" curve. Baseball historians Rob Neyer and Bill James ranked Joss' fastball third (1900–1904) and sixth (1905–1909) in the major leagues. George Moriarty explained that Joss had only one curveball because "he believed that with a few well mastered deliveries he could acquire great control and success with less strain on his arm." In an era filled with spitball pitchers, Joss achieved his success without ever altering the baseball. Joss threw with a corkscrew windup motion, described as "an exaggerated pinwheel motion." Shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh described his windup: "He would turn his back toward the batter as he wound up, hiding the ball all the while, and then whip around and fire it in."
Illness and injury accompanied Joss throughout much of his professional career. In 1903, a high fever forced him to miss the last month of the season. Joss was hired as a sports columnist after the 1906 season for the Toledo News-Bee. He also served as their Sunday sports editor. His writings proved so popular that sales of the paper increased and a special phone line was installed in his office to field the large volume of calls he received from fans. The increased popularity gave him an advantage when negotiating with the Naps before the 1907 season, and the club agreed to pay him $4,000 ().
He later also wrote for the Cleveland Press and covered the World Series for the News-Bee and Press from 1907 to 1909. Chapman thought Joss could be suffering from nervous indigestion or food poisoning. By April 9, as Joss was coughing more and had a severe headache, Chapman changed his diagnosis to pleurisy and reported that Joss would not be able to play for one month and would need ten days of rest to recover. Joss could not stand on his own and his speech was slurred. On April 13, Chapman sought a second opinion from the Naps' team doctor, who performed a lumbar puncture and diagnosed Joss with tuberculous meningitis. The disease had spread to Joss' brain and he died on April 14, 1911, two days after his 31st birthday
Joss was well-liked by his peers and baseball fans. Upon hearing of his death, the Press wrote "every train brings flowers" and "floral tributes by the wagonload are hourly arriving at the Joss home from all sections of the country." Washington Senators manager Jimmy McAleer volunteered to manage the all-stars. "The memory of Addie Joss is sacred to everyone with whom he ever came in contact. The man never wore a uniform who was a greater credit to the sport than he", McAleer said. Sportswriter Red Smith wrote in 1970 in support of Joss. "Could you write a history of baseball without mentioning Joss? Nobody ever has. That ought to be the measure of a man's fitness for the Hall of Fame, the only measure." However, Warren Giles, then-chairman of the Hall of Fame's Veterans Committee, pointed out to baseball historian Bob Broeg in 1972 that induction to the Hall required "participation in ten championship seasons." Joss had been on the Cleveland roster in 1911 and participated in spring training, falling ill just before regular season play commenced. Hence it was argued he had "participated" in the 1911 season, his tenth. The Hall's Board of Directors waived the eligibility requirements for Joss. Joe Reichler, a member of the Commissioner's office, worked to allow Joss to become eligible for the Hall and succeeded in 1977.
Joss was inducted into the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame on July 29, 2006. He was inducted in the same class as Ray Chapman, Rocky Colavito, Al López, Sam McDowell, Al Rosen and Herb Score.
Footnotes
- Sources differ on the number of one-hitters. Porter states six one-hitters
- Fleitz writes in Shoeless: The Life and Times of Joe Jackson that Joss was diagnosed with pleurisy by the Naps team doctor while in Chattanooga.