Dazzy Vance
One of the best pitchers in baseball during the 1920s, Dazzy Vance toiled for poor Brooklyn teams much of his career. The right-hander didn't win his first game in the majors until after his 31st birthday - yet he went on to eight strikeout titles, 197 wins, a no-hitter, and the first National League Most Valuable Player Award.
Played For
Pittsburgh Pirates (1915)
New York Yankees (1915)
Brooklyn Dodgers (1922-1932)
St. Louis Cardinals (1933-1934)
Cincinnati Reds (1934)
Brooklyn Dodgers (1935)
All-Time Rankings
Dazzy Vance ranks #43 among the Top 50 all-time at SP. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1924
Vance won the very first NL MVP Award in 1924, leading the NL with 28 victories, 305 complete games, 262 strikeouts, and a 2.16 ERA. He outpolled Rogers Hornsby, who that year had set a major league record with a .424 batting average, because one voter failed to place Hornsby on the ballot. Vance used the award to negotiate a highly publicized three-year contract worth $47,500 from Brooklyn owner Charles Ebbets.
Factoids
Dazzy Vance won the Triple Crown for pitching in 1924, with 28 wins, a 2.16 ERA, and 262 strikeouts.
Born
Clarence Arthur Vance was born on March 4, 1891, in Orient, IA.
Died
February 16, 1961, Homosassa Springs, FL
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Primary Position: P
Primary Team: BRO
Major League Debut
April 16, 1915
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1915
Sam Rice
Rogers Hornsby
Joe Judge
George Sisler
Dave Bancroft
Dazzy Vance
Charlie Jamieson
George Kelly
Baby Doll Jacobson
His nickname derived from an often used childhood phrase, "Ain't that a daisy." Vance, however, pronounced the last word "dazzy."
Uniform Numbers
#15 (1932, #18 (1933), #17 (1934 Reds), #19 (1934 Cardinals), #21 (1935)
Similar Players
Orel Hershiser, Kevin Brown, Bob Shawkey, Tommy Bridges, Bob Welch, Lon Warneke
Related Players
Rogers Hornsby
| Hall of Fame Voting |
| Year |
Election |
Votes |
Pct |
| 1936 |
BBWAA |
1 |
.4% |
1937 |
BBWAA |
10 |
5.0% |
1938 |
BBWAA |
10 |
3.8% |
1939 |
BBWAA |
15 |
5.5% |
1942 |
BBWAA |
37 |
15.9% |
1945 |
BBWAA |
18 |
7.3% |
1946 |
Nominating Vote |
31 |
15.3% |
1947 |
BBWAA |
50 |
31.1% |
1948 |
BBWAA |
23 |
19.0% |
1949 |
BBWAA |
33 |
21.6% |
1949 |
Run Off |
15 |
8.0% |
1950 |
BBWAA |
52 |
31.0% |
1951 |
BBWAA |
70 |
31.0% |
1952 |
BBWAA |
105 |
44.9% |
1953 |
BBWAA |
150 |
56.8% |
1954 |
BBWAA |
158 |
62.7% |
1955 |
BBWAA |
205 |
81.7% |
|
No-Hitter
9/17/1925: For BRO (N) vs. PHI (N), 10-1 at BRO. 9 innings pitched.
Post-Season Appearances
1934 World Series
Awards and Honors
1924 NL MVP
1924 NL Triple Crown
Pitching Feats
Transactions
April, 1915: Purchased by the New York Yankees from the Pittsburgh Pirates; February, 1933: Traded by the Brooklyn Dodgers with Gordon Slade to the St. Louis Cardinals for Jake Flowers and Ownie Carroll; June 25, 1934: Selected off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds from the St. Louis Cardinals.
Replaced
His first steady job in a big league rotation came in 1922 for Brooklyn. Vance replaced lefty Clarence Mitchell.
Replaced By
A host of pitchers. By the time Vance was through as a starting pitcher (1933), the Dodgers had shiffled Boom-Boom Beck, Ownie Carroll, and Van Lingle Mungo into the rotation.
Best Strength as a Player
Fastball
Largest Weakness as a Player
Timing. Vance was probably ready to be a regular starting pitcher by the time he was 25, but no team would give him a chance. He had to wait until the struggling Dodgers gave him a shot in 1922 before he could pitch regularly. When that happened, he led the NL in strikeouts for seven straight years.
Learn More about Dazzy Vance
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