Amos Rusie

Amos Wilson Rusie (May 30, 1871 – December 6, 1942), nicknamed "the Hoosier Thunderbolt", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the late 19th century. He had a 10-season career in the National League (NL), which consisted of one season with the Indianapolis Hoosiers in , eight with the New York Giants from to , and one with the Cincinnati Reds in .

He is best known for the speed at which he pitched. The velocity of his fastball was unknown, but it has been estimated that he threw it in the mid-to-upper 90s. He led the league in strikeouts five times, and won 20 or more games eight times. Though he did throw hard, he did not have good control of his pitches, leading the league in walks five times and being seventh all-time among the career pitching leaders in that category. In 1890 he walked 289, the all-time single-season record.

In 1897, one of his fastballs struck future Hall of Fame shortstop Hughie Jennings in the head, rendering him comatose for four days before recovery. Rusie's wildness had been a catalyst for officials to change the distance from the pitching rubber (the back line of the pitching box at the time) to home plate from to the current . This ruling was made effective for the season, at the peak of Amos Rusie's pitching prowess. The distance change did not reduce Rusie's effectiveness, as he led the league in strikeouts for three straight seasons afterward, while also winning what later would be known as the pitching triple crown in . For his accomplishments, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977 by the Veterans Committee.

Early life

Rusie was born on May 30, 1871, in Mooresville, Indiana, to mason and plasterer William Asbury Rusie and his wife Mary Donovan. When he was still young, his family moved to nearby Indianapolis, Indiana, where he eventually quit school to work in a factory. However, he was signed shortly thereafter by the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the NL, and made his major league debut on May 9 in a 13-2 loss to the Cleveland Blues, pitching in relief of starting pitcher Jim Whitney. In 33 games pitched during the 1889 season, he posted a 12–10 win–loss record, he started 22, completed 19, and recorded one shutout. Instead of evenly splitting pitching duties with Mickey Welch, another future Hall of Fame player, as Keefe had done the preceding five seasons, he started 62 games to Welch's 37.

thumb|left|upright|alt=A baseball player is seen from his chest up, facing slightly left of the camera.|An 1895 tobacco card of Amos Rusie

Rusie quickly became a sensation among fans, media, and society owing to the combination of his pitching velocity and physical size at , , which was considered large for the era. Three days later, on May 12, Rusie was on the winning side of a pitching duel with future Hall of Famer Kid Nichols, in a game that ended with a home run by the Giants' Mike Tiernan in the 13th inning. Due to the lack of control of his pitches, however, he also led the league with 289 walks, the all-time record for a season, and tossed 36 wild pitches, another total that topped the league. The Giants finished in sixth place among the eight NL teams, while Rusie won 29 games and had a league-leading 34 losses. As a hitter, he had a successful season with .278 batting average in 284 at bats, 13 doubles, six triples, and he scored 31 runs. While the upgraded Giants improved their final standings by finishing in third place among eight teams in the NL, and had a four-game lead over the Chicago Colts on June 16 when Rusie held them scoreless, and were 2.5 games behind the Colts on September 19, they were 13 games back at the close of the season.

After having been on the losing end of no-hitter by Tom Lovett of the Brooklyn Bridegrooms on June 22, Rusie returned the favor by throwing one of his own against them just over a month later on July 31. In December 1900, after he had not pitched for them in two years, Rusie was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Christy Mathewson. The trade is one of the most lopsided in baseball history; Rusie pitched poorly in three games before retiring, while Mathewson won 371 games for the Giants and was part of the inaugural class inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.

Rusie finished his career with 245 wins, 174 losses, 1,934 strikeouts and a 3.07 ERA. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.

Rusie died in Seattle, Washington, in 1942.

Early life

See also

References

External links