From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oscar Graham
Pitcher
Born: (1878-07-20)July 20, 1878
Plattsmouth, Nebraska
Died: October 15, 1931(1931-10-15) (aged 53)
Moline, Illinois
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 13, 1907, for the Washington Senators
Last MLB appearance
August 5, 1907, for the Washington Senators
MLB statistics
Win–loss record4-9
Earned run average3.98
Strikeouts44
Teams

Oscar Marion Graham (July 20, 1878 – October 15, 1931) was a professional baseball pitcher. In a 17-year career, he won four games in Major League Baseball and 272 games in the minor leagues. Graham was 6 feet tall and weighed 180 pounds. [1]

Professional career

Graham was born in Plattsmouth, Nebraska [2] in 1878. He started his professional baseball career in 1901. In 1902, he won 16 games in the class A Western League. Graham then went to the Pacific Coast League's Oakland Oaks, and he put up some big numbers in the long PCL seasons. In 1903, he went 28-29 with a 3.44 earned run average, pitching 504.2 innings in 61 games. [3] He led the league in games pitched, innings pitched, losses, and earned runs (193). [4] His 234 walks and 49 hit batters during that season are PCL records that have never been broken. [5] Graham was also a good hitter, as he had a batting average of .323 to finish sixth in the league in that category. [6]

In 1904, Graham had a slightly lesser workload, as he pitched 392.1 innings and went 19-23 with a 2.89 ERA. [3] Again, he hit well and finished ninth in the batting race at .305. [7] Graham had one of his better seasons in 1905. He pitched over 500 innings for the second time and tied his career-high in wins with 28. His ERA dropped to 2.37, and he led the league with 56 games started. [3] [8] The following year, he tossed another 432 innings for Oakland and went 25-23. [3] He was purchased by the American League's Washington Senators in August of that year. [1]

Graham made his major league debut with the Senators on April 16, 1907. He ended up appearing in 20 games for them, including 14 starts, and he went 4-9 with a 3.98 ERA. His last MLB game was on August 5, and he then finished the season with the American Association's Minneapolis Millers. [1] [3]

Graham started 1908 with Minneapolis. He had a win–loss record of 8-5 before leaving to play for another team in the Virginia, Minnesota based Virginia Ore Diggers, where he was paid a "whopping" $350 each month. [3] [9] Graham returned to the American Association in 1909, this time with the Indianapolis Indians. In 40 games, he went 15-15. He started off 1910 with them, as well, but was released in July for "failure to keep in winning condition." [3] [10]

For the next few years, Graham bounced around the minor leagues. He had his fifth, and final, 20-win season in 1916, when he went 23-12 with a 2.31 ERA in the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League. [3] He tied for the league-lead in victories. [11]

After retirement

Graham retired from professional baseball after the 1917 season. He pitched a total of 17 years and won 276 games – 272 in the minor leagues and 4 in the major leagues. [1] [3]

Graham lived in Rising Sun, Iowa, in the winters, and he worked as a corn husker and rabbit hunter during that time. [12] He died in Moline, Illinois, in 1931. [1]

Death

Graham died on October 15, 1931, in Moline, Illinois. He is interred at Riverside Cemetery in Moline. [13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Oscar Graham Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  2. ^ "Oscar Graham". Baseball-Reference.Com. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Oscar Graham Minor League Statistics & History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  4. ^ "1903 Pacific Coast League Pitching Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  5. ^ Zingg, Paul J. and Medeiros, Mark D. (1994). Runs, Hits, and an Era: The Pacific Coast League, 1903-58. University of Illinois Press. pp. 20-21.
  6. ^ "1903 Pacific Coast League Batting Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  7. ^ "1904 Pacific Coast League Batting Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  8. ^ "1905 Pacific Coast League Pitching Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  9. ^ Peterson, Todd (2010). Early Black Baseball in Minnesota. McFarland. p. 83.
  10. ^ "News Notes". Sporting Life. July 30, 1910. p. 17.
  11. ^ "1916 Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League Pitching Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  12. ^ Thornley, Stew (2006). Baseball in Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 48.
  13. ^ "Oscar Graham". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 19, 2012.

External links


Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Oscar_Graham&oldid=1194507413"