John Alfred "Footsie" Marcum (September 9, 1909 – September 10, 1984) was a professional baseball

Professional baseball

Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....

 pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

, for seven seasons in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 with the Philadelphia Athletics

Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

, Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

, St. Louis Browns

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

, and Chicago White Sox

Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...

.

Biography

Marcum was born on September 9, 1909, in Campbellsburg, Kentucky

Campbellsburg, Kentucky

Campbellsburg is a city in Henry County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 705 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Campbellsburg is located at ....

.

Marcum entered the major leagues late in the season at the age of 23 with the Philadelphia Athletics

1933 Philadelphia Athletics season

The Philadelphia Athletics season involved the A's finishing 3rd in the American League with a record of 79 wins and 72 losses. Jimmie Foxx became the first player to win two American League MVP Awards.- Regular season :...

, compiling a record of 3-2 in five appearances. He spent the next two years with the Athletics as one of their main starting pitchers. He went 14-11 in 1934

1934 Philadelphia Athletics season

The Philadelphia Athletics season involved the A's finishing 5th in the American League with a record of 78 wins and 82 losses.- Offseason :* November 6, 1933: Tony Freitas, Gowell Claset, and cash were traded by the Athletics to the St...

 and 17-12 in 1935

1935 Philadelphia Athletics season

The Philadelphia Athletics season involved the A's finishing 8th in the American League with a record of 58 wins and 91 losses.Before 1935, 20th Street residents could see games for free over the 12-foot right-field fence of Shibe Park and fans could see the laundry lines on the roofs of 20th...

.

Marcum spent 1936-1938 with the Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

, going 8-13, 13-11, and 5-6, respectively. His ERA

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

 stayed relatively the same throughout the first six years in his career (between 4.00 and 5.00, roughly).

The final year in Marcum's career, , was split between the St. Louis Browns

1939 St. Louis Browns season

The St. Louis Browns season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Browns finishing 8th in the American League with a record of 43 wins and 111 losses.- Regular season :...

 and Chicago White Sox

1939 Chicago White Sox season

The 1939 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 39th season in major league baseball, and its 40th season overall. They finished with a record 85-69, good enough for 4th place in the American League, 22.5 games behind the first place New York Yankees....

, mainly in relief.

Marcum died on September 10, 1984 in Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

.