Hugh “One Arm” Dailey



Hugh “One Arm” Dailey

Cleveland Blues Day

September 13th

Today, we honor Addie Joss and the 100 year anniversary of his perfect game. In order to educate Clevelanders about early base ball in Cleveland, we wanted to make you aware of another great Cleveland pitcher, Hugh “One Arm” Dailey.

Hugh Ignatius Daily, (July 17, 1847 – after 1923) was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who played a total of six seasons, for seven different teams; the Buffalo Bisons, the Cleveland Blues, and the St. Louis Maroons of the National League, Chicago Browns and Washington Nationals of the Union Association, and the Cleveland Blues of the American Association. He began pitching at age 34. He was well-known for having a surly disposition, which forced him to move from team to team. He was not well-liked by the baseball establishment, but was a fan favorite wherever he played. He remains a mysterious figure today, as there is very little record of his whereabouts after his career. It is unclear to this day where he lived and where he died.

Daily's nickname was an exaggeration of his physical handicap. Before the start of his major league career, he lost his left hand in a gun accident. He compensated by fashioning a pad covering his wrist; he would trap the ball between the pad and his good hand. He was able to play three games in the outfield, two at second base, and one at shortstop in his major league career, and he hit as high as .214 with six doubles in 1884.

Daily pitched well at times, especially in the beginning of his career. For the Cleveland Blues(NL), the surly hurler threw a 1-0 no-hitter against Philadelphia on September 13, 1883. He was the first pitcher in ML history to toss consecutive one-hitters, striking out 19 in the first of the pair to tie a ML record that stood for over a century until Rogers Clemens threw for 20 strike outs in 1986. This came in the Union Association, in that league's only year. At the end of the season, he had struck out 483, the second-best season total ever, although pitching conditions were to change greatly, and permanently, within a decade. His only winning seasons came in his first two years, as he went 15-14 and 23-19, fairly ordinary marks for the time. He went 28-30 for three UA teams in 1884 and was never again a good pitcher. He vanished from the scene after his last year in the majors.

In recognition of this great player, September 13th is now "Cleveland Blues Day".

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download