Russell William Ford was a 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...

 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...

 during the dead-ball era

Dead-ball era

The dead-ball era is a baseball term used to describe the period between 1900 and the emergence of Babe Ruth as a power hitter in 1919. In 1919, Ruth hit a then league record 29 home runs, a spectacular feat at that time.This era was characterized by low-scoring games and a lack of home runs...

 of the early 1900s.

Emery Ball

Ford is best-known as the creator of the "emery" or "scuff" ball, a pitch that was thrown with a ball that had been scuffed with a piece of emery. Ford won 26 games in his rookie season of , becoming only the third player in major league history to win 20 games and strike out at least 200 batters in his first season (Christy Mathewson

Christy Mathewson

Christopher "Christy" Mathewson , nicknamed "Big Six", "The Christian Gentleman", or "Matty", was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire career in what is known as the dead-ball era...

 and Pete Alexander are the others).

His pitch selection included the famed scuff/emery ball, a spitball

Spitball

A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of saliva, petroleum jelly, or some other foreign substance....

, fastball

Fastball

The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...

, and knuckle ball.

Hall of Fame

Ford was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museums commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada.-History:...

 in 1989 and into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, dedicated to the history of sport in Manitoba and honouring the best in sport. The organization began in 1980 and in 1993, a museum was opened in The Forks...

 in 2002.

Brother

Russ' brother, Gene Ford

Gene Ford

Eugene Wyman Ford was a professional baseball player. He was a right-handed pitcher for one season with the Detroit Tigers...

, also played in the major leagues. Gene pitched in seven games for the Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

 in 1905.

External links

• Baseball-Reference - career statistics and analysis
• Biography at Mop Up Duty
• Russ Ford’s biography at Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum