Jack Stivetts
Jack Stivetts was a fine all-around player, winning more than 200 games while also batting with power. He was one of the most popular players of the 1890s, helping the Boston Beaneaters to three pennants, as he formed a talented duo with teammate Kid Nichols. A durable hurler, he frequently pitched both ends of a doubleheader, and in 1892 he twirled a no-hitter against Brooklyn. He retired at the young age of 31 with arm problems, with 203 wins to his credit.
Played For
St. Louis Browns, National League (1889-1891)
Boston Braves (1892-1898)
Cleveland Spiders (1899)
Best Season: 1891
Stivetts led the National League with 259 K's, 64 games pitched, and won 33 games. He also hit .309 - good for ninth in the league.
"The Uncrowned Pitching Ace"
Below is a poem written by the editors of the Ashland Daily News (PA), in honor of Stivetts. (July, 1961)
He won more games than Chesbro, Waddell,
Or Big Ed Walsh, the White Sox Ace,
And his 'Fireball' is a lasting thrill
Which Time, nor Tide can ever efface.
But with all those qualifications
Of which Hall of Famers are made,
He's one of Baseball's Forgotten Men
Who didn't quite make the grade.
Victories won, two-hundred and four
In nine actual years of pitching time,
Averaging twenty-three games per year,
A record close to being sublime.
Which will ever echo out of the past,
Recurring over and over again.
Assuring Stivetts an honored place
In the ranks of pitching supermen.
Way back in the glorious Nineties,
In the peak of his pitching fame,
Jack Stivetts, the 'Pride of Old Ashland,"
Hurled a thrilling no-hit game.
And of all the honors which he earned
In his great thrill-packed career,
This was his life's greatest moment,
The one which he prized most dear.
A commanding figure of power and force
With this definitely in view;
Throwing strikes past the hitter
By blazing his 'Fireball' through.
Endowed with courage and confidence,
The kind that could never fail,
A pitching master who looked the part,
Yes, down to the last detail.
Rusie, Young and Big BIll Dinneen
Were all 'Speed Kings' in their prime,
And it's said that Johnson's 'Fireball'
Was the fastest of all-time.
Well, I've seen them, each and every one,
Staging their 'Smoke-ball' display,
But to pitch a ball faster than Stivetts,
None of them ever saw the day.
Jack's all-time batting average
Of three hundred forty-eight,
Is the hitting record for pitchers,
Beyond all question, or debate.
And the blazing hits and home-run drives
Which he blasted with might and main,
Will serve to detail a batting mark
Which will ever, unsurpassed remain.
Playing the outfield in clever style,
He charged those hard line drives to right,
And threw the batters out at First
With just sheer power and throwing might.
While the blazing strikes, and rifle throws
Which Stivetts threw to every sack,
Confused baserunners, time and again
By shattering their running attack.
He's not enshrined at Cooperstown,
The Old-Timers Committee passed him by,
And as for the scribbling 'Two-by-Fours,'
They still quote their senseless alibi.
But his loyal friends, the dearest and best
Will cross their hearts, and solemnly swear
That Stivetts is their outstanding choice,
The pitcher so quite beyond compare.
The ringing cheers and wild acclaim
Are all in the distant past,
But those unforgettable memories
Still come crowding thick and fast.
Yet, I hope that on that 'Last Great Day,'
The Lord will assign an honored place
Befitting the fame and great renown
Of Old Ashland's 'Uncrowned Pitching Ace.'
Born
John Elmer Stivetts was born on March 31, 1868, in Ashland, PA.
Died
April 18, 1930, Ashland, PA
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Primary Position: OF
Primary Team: BSN
Major League Debut
June 26, 1889
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1889
Coming soon...
Nicknames
Happy Jack
Similar Players
Wes Ferrell, Tommy Bridges
Related Players
Kid Nichols
Feats
Pitched a 11-0 no-hitter on August 6, 1892, for the Beaneaters against the Brooklyn Bridegrooms... In his first nine starts for the Browns in 1889, Stivetts fanned 70 batters, an unheard of average of nearly eight per game.
Best Strength as a Player
Athletic ability
Largest Weakness as a Player
Stivetts never had quite the same success from the 60-foot, six-inch distance, as he did from the shorter (50-foot) distance prior to 1893.
Learn More about Jack Stivetts
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