Bernard Anthony Boland (January 21, 1892 – September 12, 1973) was an American baseball pitcher. He played professional baseball for 10 years from 1912 to 1921, including seven seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers from 1915 to 1920 and for the St. Louis Browns in 1921. Between 1915 and 1919, Boland appeared in 198 games for the Tigers, 110 as a starter and compiled a 67-47 win–loss record and a 3.01 earned run average. After suffering a broken arm, he appeared in only 11 games in 1920 and 1921 and compiled a 1–6 record with an 8.73 earned run average.
Early years
Boland was born in Rochester, New York, in 1892. His older brother Pat Boland played baseball for the Blue Labels team.
Detroit Tigers
On August 28, 1914, the Nashville club sold Boland to the Detroit Tigers. He made his major league debut on April 14, 1915, as a member of the 1915 Detroit Tigers that compiled a 100-54 for the second best winning percentage in franchise history. Boland's record in his rookie season was 13–7 with a 3.11 earned run average.
In 1916, Boland appeared in a career-high 46 games, only nine as a starter, and compiled a 10–3 record with a 3.94 earned run average. His .769 winning percentage was the best in the American League.
In 1918, Boland appeared in 29 games, 25 as a starter, and compiled a 14–10 record with a 2.65 earned run average.
Using a sharp breaking curve, Boland once struck out Babe Ruth three times in a game. Ruth opined that Boland had "one of the greatest curveballs ever pitched." Boland later recalled that, while they always talked about his curveball, he struck out Ruth with "fast ones, all in on his hands." It was also alleged that the players had further agreed to allow players to boost their batting averages. Detroit batters had 19 hits and scored nine runs, and Cleveland batters had 13 hits and five runs off Boland. Boland gave up two triples to Speaker, and Speaker later misplayed a fly ball, giving Boland his only triple of the 1919 season. Boland denied any involvement in fixing the game and claimed in December 1926 to be the most surprised man in the world at the revelation. However, he acknowledged that there were a lot of "friendship games" at the end of a season. Boland went on to say: "The way I figure it, about one in every 300 games is crooked."
Boland broke his arm in 1919 and was never the same. In 1920, Boland was 0–2 with a 7.79 earned run average in four games and innings pitched. He was signed by the St. Louis Browns on May 7. Boland appeared in seven games for the Browns, six as a starter, and compiled a 1–4 record with a 9.33 earned run average. He appeared in his last major league game on June 17, 1921.
During his seven seasons in the major leagues, Boland appeared in 209 games, 119 as a starter, with a record of 68–53 and a 3.25 earned run average. After retiring from baseball, Boland worked as a cement contractor and later as a construction foreman for the Detroit Department of Public Works.