"The Earl" Whitehill
Earl O. Whitehill. "The Earl". Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1933-1936. 218 wins and 11 saves in 17 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 1923-1932. His best season came when Washington won the AL pennant in 1933 as he posted a 22-8 record with an ERA of 3.33 in 270 innings pitched. He ended his career with the Chicago Cubs in 1939. His only World Series start was a complete game shutout in Game 3 of the 1933 World Series, which Washington lost in 5 games.
Excerpt from SABR biography: Earl Whitehill, one of the solid yet increasingly anonymous pitchers of the 1920s and 1930s, played 17 major league seasons and remains one of the top 100 winning pitchers of all time. A southpaw, he mixed a tantalizing curve with a fiery disposition to win 218 games for the Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, and the Chicago Cubs.
On December 14, 1932, the Tigers traded Whitehill to Washington for pitchers Fred “Firpo” Marberry and Carl Fischer. The following season began in turmoil. In April, as a consequence of pitching inside, Whitehill hit Lou Gehrig – at the time closing in on Everett Scott‘s 1,308 consecutive-games-played record – and knocked him unconscious. Obviously, Gehrig recovered, but Whitehill continued to finding himself in the midst of maelstroms.
In May, as part of an imbroglio between the Yankees’ firebrand Ben Chapman and Senator shortstop Buddy Myer, Whitehill even achieved notoriety in Time magazine:
"When Chapman reached the passageway on his way off the field. Earl Whitehill, Washington pitcher, called him a bad name. This was more than Fielder Chapman, already humiliated, could bear. He rushed at Whitehill, hit him. Umpire Moriarty tried to pull the fighters apart but failed. This time, all the players on both teams rushed at each other not to stop the fight but to enlarge it. Private detectives, uniformed policemen and about 300 spectators rushed down on the field. The spectators, armed with bats they had picked up, tried to bash the players. The players bashed each other and the spectators. After 20 minutes, police managed to restore enough order for the ball game to proceed. After five more innings, the Yankees won 16 to 0."
(I'm guessing he called him a bottle washer, or something at least as politically incorrect.)
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