Larry Jackson
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Curtis Jackson (June 2, 1931 - August 28, 1990) was an American
right-handed pitcher
in Major League Baseball
who played for the St. Louis Cardinals
, Chicago Cubs
and Philadelphia Phillies
from 1955 to 1968. In he led the National League
with 24 wins
for an eighth-place Cubs team, and was runnerup in the Cy Young Award
voting; he also led the NL in innings pitched
and shutout
s once each. His 194 career NL victories are the most in the league since 1900 by any right-hander who never played for a first-place team. A model of reliability, he won at least 13 games in each of his last twelve seasons. He later served four terms in the Idaho Legislature
.
Jackson was born in Nampa, Idaho
, attended Boise Junior College and University of Idaho
, and signed with the Cardinals in 1951. In , he led the California League
with 351 strikeout
s and a 28-4 record for the pennant-winning Fresno Cardinals
. He broke into the majors with St. Louis in , posting a 9-14 record, and gradually worked his way into the starting rotation by 1958. He was named to the NL All-Star
team in 1957, 1958 and 1960 while with the Cardinals, and allowed only two hits
and no runs
in 3-2/3 innings in the three appearances; the 1957 game was played at Sportsman's Park
in St. Louis. In he led the NL with 282 innings and 38 games started
, also winning 18 games, but he missed the first four weeks of the 1961 season after having his jaw broken in a late spring training game by a flying piece of Duke Snider
's broken bat. After the 1962 season Jackson was traded to the Cubs along with Lindy McDaniel
in a six-player deal; the Cardinals received three players including Don Cardwell
, who they dealt for Dick Groat
a month later. Jackson was again an All-Star in 1963, and ironically earned the win despite it being his least effective appearance in the Midsummer Classic; after entering with a 3-1 lead in the third inning, he allowed the tying runs, but the NL again took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth as he departed.
He enjoyed his best season the following year, as despite the Cubs' 76-86 record he posted a mark of 24-11 with 148 strikeouts and a 3.14 earned run average
. He also set a major league record for pitchers with 109 total chances
without an error
, breaking the mark of 108 shared by Three Finger Brown
and Eppa Rixey
; Randy Jones broke his record with 112 for the San Diego Padres
. With only one Cy Young Award for both leagues at that time, Dean Chance
of the American League
's Los Angeles Angels
won the award with 17 of the 20 votes; Jackson received two votes, while Sandy Koufax
received one. But Jackson followed up with a 1965 season in which he lost 21 games, becoming the first pitcher since Murry Dickson
in 1951-52 to have 20 wins and 20 losses in back-to-back seasons.
In early he was traded to the Phillies in the deal which brought Ferguson Jenkins
to Chicago, and he ended the season as one of six pitchers tied for the league shutout lead with five. In he won his 171st game to pass Bill Doak
, who had previously been the winningest NL right-hander of the 20th century to never play for a pennant winner. On June 20 of that year, he pitched a one-hitter against the New York Mets
.
After a 13-17 season with a 2.77 ERA in , Jackson was selected by the Montreal Expos
in the October 1968 expansion draft, but chose to retire rather than join the team; Bobby Wine
was sent from the Phillies to the Expos the following April as compensation. In a 14-season career, Jackson posted a 194-183 record with 1709 strikeouts, 37 shutouts and a 3.40 ERA in 558 games and 3262-2/3 innings. He tied a record held by Claude Passeau
by four times having the most total chances among pitchers with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage
(1957, 1964, 1965, 1968).
Jackson became a Boise, Idaho
sportswriter, and also worked as an insurance agent and as a lobbyist for paper manufacturers. He went on to serve four terms as a Republican
from Ada County
in the Idaho House of Representatives, became executive director of the Republican State Committee
, and ran for Governor in 1978 but did not get the party nomination. He died of cancer
in Boise at the age of 59.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
right-handed 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...
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...
who played for the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
, Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
and Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
from 1955 to 1968. In he led the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
with 24 wins
Win (baseball)
In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...
for an eighth-place Cubs team, and was runnerup in the Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
voting; he also led the NL in innings pitched
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...
and shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
s once each. His 194 career NL victories are the most in the league since 1900 by any right-hander who never played for a first-place team. A model of reliability, he won at least 13 games in each of his last twelve seasons. He later served four terms in the Idaho Legislature
Idaho Legislature
The Idaho Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Idaho. It consists of the upper Idaho Senate and the lower Idaho House of Representatives. The Idaho Senate contains 35 Senators, who are elected from 35 districts...
.
Jackson was born in Nampa, Idaho
Nampa, Idaho
Nampa is the largest and the fastest growing city in Canyon County, Idaho, USA. The population of Nampa was 81,557 at the 2010 census. Nampa is located about west of Boise along Interstate 84, and six miles west of Meridian. Nampa is part of the Boise metropolitan area...
, attended Boise Junior College and University of Idaho
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho is the State of Idaho's flagship and oldest public university, located in the rural city of Moscow in Latah County in the northern portion of the state...
, and signed with the Cardinals in 1951. In , he led the California League
California League
The California League is a Class A Advanced minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High-A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
with 351 strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
s and a 28-4 record for the pennant-winning Fresno Cardinals
Fresno Cardinals
The Fresno Cardinals were a minor league baseball team that played in the California League from 1941-1956. The team was owned by the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League and was based in Fresno, California....
. He broke into the majors with St. Louis in , posting a 9-14 record, and gradually worked his way into the starting rotation by 1958. He was named to the NL All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
team in 1957, 1958 and 1960 while with the Cardinals, and allowed only two hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
and no runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
in 3-2/3 innings in the three appearances; the 1957 game was played at Sportsman's Park
Sportsman's Park
Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, all but one of which were located on the same piece of land, the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street on the north side of the city.- History :From...
in St. Louis. In he led the NL with 282 innings and 38 games started
Games started
In baseball statistics, games started indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he faces the first opposing batter...
, also winning 18 games, but he missed the first four weeks of the 1961 season after having his jaw broken in a late spring training game by a flying piece of Duke Snider
Duke Snider
Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider , nicknamed "The Silver Fox" and "The Duke of Flatbush", was a Major League Baseball center fielder and left-handed batter who played for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers , New York Mets , and San Francisco Giants .Snider was elected to the National Baseball Hall of...
's broken bat. After the 1962 season Jackson was traded to the Cubs along with Lindy McDaniel
Lindy McDaniel
Lyndall Dale McDaniel, known as Lindy is a right-handed former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who had a 21-year career from 1955 to 1975. During McDaniel's career he witnessed approximately 3,500 major league games , had more than 300 teammates, and played under eight different managers...
in a six-player deal; the Cardinals received three players including Don Cardwell
Don Cardwell
Donald Eugene Cardwell was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for five National League teams from 1957 to 1970...
, who they dealt for Dick Groat
Dick Groat
Richard Morrow Groat is a former two-sport athlete best known as a shortstop in Major League Baseball. He played for four National League teams, mainly the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player in after winning the batting title with a .325...
a month later. Jackson was again an All-Star in 1963, and ironically earned the win despite it being his least effective appearance in the Midsummer Classic; after entering with a 3-1 lead in the third inning, he allowed the tying runs, but the NL again took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth as he departed.
He enjoyed his best season the following year, as despite the Cubs' 76-86 record he posted a mark of 24-11 with 148 strikeouts and a 3.14 earned run average
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...
. He also set a major league record for pitchers with 109 total chances
Total chances
In baseball statistics, total chances , also called chances offered, represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is calculated as follows: Total Chances = assists + putouts + errors. Chances accepted refers to the total of putouts and assists only. Fielding...
without an error
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
, breaking the mark of 108 shared by Three Finger Brown
Mordecai Brown
Mordecai Peter Centennial Brown , nicknamed "Three Finger" or "Miner", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher at the turn of the 20th century. Due to a farm-machinery accident in his youth, Brown lost parts of two fingers on his right hand and eventually acquired his nickname as a result...
and Eppa Rixey
Eppa Rixey
Eppa Rixey Jr. , nicknamed "Jephtha", was an American left-handed pitcher who played 21 seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1933...
; Randy Jones broke his record with 112 for the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
. With only one Cy Young Award for both leagues at that time, Dean Chance
Dean Chance
Wilmer Dean Chance is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. Over the right hander's 11-year major league career, he would play for the Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, and Detroit Tigers...
of the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
's Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
won the award with 17 of the 20 votes; Jackson received two votes, while Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...
received one. But Jackson followed up with a 1965 season in which he lost 21 games, becoming the first pitcher since Murry Dickson
Murry Dickson
Murry Monroe Dickson was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the 1940s and 1950s...
in 1951-52 to have 20 wins and 20 losses in back-to-back seasons.
In early he was traded to the Phillies in the deal which brought Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins, CM, is a Canadian former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was a three-time All-Star and the 1971 NL Cy Young Award winner. In 1991, Jenkins was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 19-year career, he pitched for four different teams,...
to Chicago, and he ended the season as one of six pitchers tied for the league shutout lead with five. In he won his 171st game to pass Bill Doak
Bill Doak
William Leopold Doak was born on January 28, 1891 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He spent 11 years with the St. Louis Cardinals. In he went 19-6 and lead the league with an ERA of 1.72. Doak won 20 games in , and led the NL in ERA again in 1921. On June 14, 1924 Doak was traded by the Cardinals to...
, who had previously been the winningest NL right-hander of the 20th century to never play for a pennant winner. On June 20 of that year, he pitched a one-hitter against the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
.
After a 13-17 season with a 2.77 ERA in , Jackson was selected by the Montreal Expos
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
in the October 1968 expansion draft, but chose to retire rather than join the team; Bobby Wine
Bobby Wine
Robert Paul Wine Sr. is a former shortstop, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. An excellent fielder who struggled as a batsman, Wine spent 12 seasons in the National League with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Montreal Expos...
was sent from the Phillies to the Expos the following April as compensation. In a 14-season career, Jackson posted a 194-183 record with 1709 strikeouts, 37 shutouts and a 3.40 ERA in 558 games and 3262-2/3 innings. He tied a record held by Claude Passeau
Claude Passeau
Claude William Passeau was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From through , Passeau played with the Pittsburgh Pirates , Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs . He batted and threw right-handed...
by four times having the most total chances among pitchers with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage
Fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...
(1957, 1964, 1965, 1968).
Jackson became a Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
sportswriter, and also worked as an insurance agent and as a lobbyist for paper manufacturers. He went on to serve four terms as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
from Ada County
Ada County, Idaho
Ada County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 Census, the county had a population of 392,365. The county seat and largest city is Boise, which is also the state capital. Other cities in the county with over 10,000 residents include Meridian, Eagle,...
in the Idaho House of Representatives, became executive director of the Republican State Committee
Idaho Republican Party
The Idaho Republican Party, the Idaho state affiliate of the United States Republican Party, is the dominant political party in the state of Idaho. Republicans control the all constitutional offices, with C.L. "Butch" Otter as Governor. They also control by large margins the state Senate and House...
, and ran for Governor in 1978 but did not get the party nomination. He died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in Boise at the age of 59.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
- List of Major League Baseball wins champions
External links
- BaseballLibrary - career highlights
- Baseball Almanac