Grover Cleveland Alexander was born in St. Paul, Nebraska, one of thirteen children. Eleven of his siblings were boys. Born in 1887, his parents named him after President Grover Cleveland. As a child he was known by the name “Dode.” As a child he hunted birds with rocks, showing off his tremendous accuracy and speed. The same control was later shown in his baseball career where he rarely walked batters but led the NL in strikeouts six times.

Alexander earned his first chance at playing ball for a living at the age of 19. He was paid $50 a month to play semi-pro ball for Central City, Nebraska. While throwing baseballs at the county fair in Burwell, he was discovered by the Galesburg club in the Illinois-Missouri League. In his first season with Galesburg Alexander posted a 15-8 record, striking out 198 batters and walking 42. Late in the season he suffered a nearly fatal injury when he was hit on the head by a thrown ball. He was unconscious for 56 hours before recovering.

That injury temporarily left the right-hander with double vision, and Galesburg quickly sold him to Indianapolis. In the early going, his new team and Indianapolis soon realized why Galesburg had been so ready to deal Alexander. He was given (the contract was handed over fat no charge) to Syracuse in the New York State League and his career seemed to be heading nowhere.

Indianapolis soon regretted that move. Just prior to the 1910 season Alexander’s double vision disappeared. That season he led the league with 29 wins and pitched in 43 games for Syracuse. The performance alerted major league scouts and he was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies for $750. His original salary was $250 per month. It was one of the best deals the Phillies ever made.

Alexander's 1911 rookie season was one of the finest ever recorded by a hurler. In the midst of increasing offensive numbers in baseball, Alexander blazed his way to 28 victories, leading the NL. He hurled seven shutouts (four straight), pitched 367 innings, and completed 31 games. Had their been an award for the best pitcher in the league, Alexander would have won it.

His seasons in Philadelphia were very successful. In six of the seven seasons he pitched for the Phillies, he led or tied for the league lead in innings pitched. Alexander led or tied in wins five times, including the 1915, 1916, and 1917 seasons when he garnered 31, 33, and 30 wins respectively. Those three years were one of the best stretches of pitching ever recorded by a major league hurler.

Grover won three ERA titles, including a miniscule 1.22 in 1915 which stood as an NL record until Bob Gibson surpassed it in 1968. Alexander won five strikeout titles, and his 16 shutouts in 1916 are still a major league record, which may never be approached considering the lack of complete games in baseball today.

Getting a hit off Alexander in those Phillies days was a feat in itself – in 1915 he pitched four one-hitters. His arm never seemed to tire, and on September 23, 1916, and September 3, 1917, he pitched two complete game victories in a doubleheader.

The 1915 season was the pinacle of Grover’s years in Philadelphia. He led the team to the National League pennant on the strength of his 31-10 record, and then earned the team’s sole victory in the World Series, winning Game One 3-1 over the Red Sox. That victory was the Phillies only World Series win until 1980 when the franchise finally earned their first title.

World War I cost America some of it’s bravest men. It cost the Phillies Grover Cleveland Alexander. Fearing his impending draft into the Army, the Phils decided to trade their ace (who had won 190 games for them from 1911-1917) to the Chicago Cubs. It was the worst deal in team history. The Cubs gave Philadelphia $60,000 and two also-rans for the future Hall of Fame pitcher. Also in the deal was Bill Killefer - Alexander’s personal catcher, who accompanied him to the Windy City.

Alexander pitched three games for the Cubs in 1918 and then was sent to France as a member of the 89th Infantry Division. While he was at war, Alexander’s wife, Aimee, was paid $500 by Cubs owner William Wrigley. In France Alexander’s life changed forever. Shelling cost him the hearing in one of his ears, and the first signs of his epilepsy appeared. The trauma of the war, coupled with the disease, were later blamed for Alexander’s alcoholism. Whatever the cause, his drinking would result in two divorces (both from Aimee).

In 1919 Alexander returned to the Cubs, his first full season with Chicago. He won 16 games and led the circuit in ERA. He followed that up with a big season in 1920, going 27-14 and winning the pitching “Triple Crown”, leading in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. The ERA title was his fifth straight not counting the war-interrupted 1918 season.

By 1921 his drinking began to take a toll on his performance, and following the 1925 season he was admitted to a sanitarium, suffering from epilepsy and the affects of alcoholism. Early in 1926 the Cubs had a day for their veteran pitcher, giving him $5,500 and a new automobile. The Boston Braves beat Alexander that day 7-1, and it was the final appearance by him in a Chicago uniform. Arm trouble and a dispute with Cubs manager Joe McCarthy sidelined the veteran until he was waived to the St. Louis Cardinals in mid-season.

On June 27, 1926, he made his debut with the Cardinals, his third major league team. That day he defeated the Cubs in an emotional game, 3-2. Grover allowed his ex-teammates just 4 hits. The move to St. Louis resulted in one of the more dramatic moments in baseball history. That Cardinal team was managed by Rogers Hornsby, and they won the NL flag going away. Alexander proved valuable – winning nine games for the Redbirds down the stretch.

The Cardinals faced Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and the New York Yankees in the 1926 World Series. Alexander started Game Two, beating the Yanks 6-2. In Game Six he returned to beat the Bronx Bombers 10-2, setting up a Game Seven finale for the crown.

In 1927, Alexander returned to St. Louis, winning 21 games, the last time he would top the twenty mark. In 1928 he won 16 games for the pennant-winning Cardinals, but the team was unable to top the Yankees in the World Series a second time. Grover pitched his final World Series games, allowing 11 runs as the Yankees swept St. Louis.

By 1929, Alexander began to fade, both professionally and personally. He entered the sanitarium once again, and was suspended for part of the year by manager Bill McKechnie. Following the season he was traded back to the Phillies and pitched nine games for them in 1930, unable to win a game. The Phillies released him in June of 1930 and Alexander caught on with Dallas in the Texas League. He hurled a few games for Dallas before retiring.

Alexander’s days after baseball were sad. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938, one of the first inductees, but that was a lone highlight for the disease stricken alcoholic. He died alone and penniless in a rented room, back in his home town of St. Paul, at the age of 63.

Played For Philadelphia Phillies (1911-1917) Chicago Cubs (1918-1926) St. Louis Cardinals (1926-1929) Philadelphia Phillies (1930) Minor League Experience 1909: Galesburg (Illinois-Missouri League) 1910: Syracuse (New York State League) 1930: Dallas (Texas League) Awards and Honors 1915 NL Triple Crown 1916 NL Triple Crown 1920 NL Triple Crown Post-Season Appearances 1915 World Series 1926 World Series 1928 World Series Milestones September 20, 1924: 300th Win...

Transactions

Traded by Philadelphia Phillies with Bill Killefer to Chicago Cubs in exchange for Mike Prendergast, Pickles Dillhoefer and $55000 (December 11, 1917); Claimed on waivers by St. Louis Cardinals from Chicago Cubs (June 22, 1926); Traded by St. Louis Cardinals with Harry McCurdy to Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Homer Peel and Bob McGraw (December 11, 1929).

Data courtesy of Restrosheet.org


Best Season, 1916

Alexander's season was one of the best ever turned in by a pitcher. He won 33 games, completing 38 of his 45 starts (he saved the three games he appeared in relief). His 1.55 ERA led the league and he won the pitching triple crown for the second consecutive year (leading in wins, K's, and ERA). Opponents batted just .230 against him, and he walked just 50 men in more than 380 innings. Most impressive were his major league record 16 shutouts.


Highlights

Pete Alexander, one of the greatest pitchers of the pre-World War I era, found himself bouncing from the Phillies to the Cubs and then the Cardinals by 1926. The Cards were a talented team that won the NL flag going away. The Cardinals faced the New York Yankees in the 1926 World Series. Alexander started Game Two, beating the Yanks 6-2. In Game Six he returned to beat the Bronx Bombers 10-2, setting up a Game Seven finale for the crown. Following his win in Game Six, Alexander celebrated in his usual manner: by tipping the bottle. The veteran arrived at the ballpark the next day hung over and seemingly of no use to his team. After his performance the day before it was not expected that the Cardinals would require his slants anyway. But in Game Seven, the Cardinals found themselves clinging to a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning. Jesse Haines, the Cardinal starter, had loaded the bases and two men were down. Manager Hornsby decided to turn to 39-year old Alexander, barely awake in the bullpen. Grover came in to face Tony Lazzeri, the Yanks hard-hitting rookie second baseman. With no place to put the pesky hitter, Alexander struck him out on four low fastballs. It remains one of the most dramatic batter/pitcher confrontations in post-season history. Alexander proceeded to retire the side in order in the eighth inning and got the first two batters in the ninth before walking Babe Ruth. In an ill-fated move, the Babe tried to steal second but was thrown out by Bob O’Farrell to end the dramatic World Series. The Cards had their first World Series title.