Jack Chesbro

John Dwight Chesbro (June 5, 1874 – November 6, 1931) was an American professional baseball pitcher. Nicknamed "Happy Jack", Chesbro played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1899–1902), the New York Highlanders (1903–1909), and the Boston Red Sox (1909) of Major League Baseball (MLB). Chesbro finished his career with a 198–132 win–loss record, a 2.68 earned run average, and 1,265 strikeouts. His 41 wins during the 1904 season remains an American League record. Though some pitchers have won more games in some seasons prior to 1901, historians demarcating 1901 as the beginning of 'modern-era' major league baseball refer to and credit Jack Chesbro and his 1904 win-total as the modern era major league record and its holder. Some view Chesbro's 41 wins in a season as an unbreakable record.

Chesbro's 1904 pitching totals of 51 games started and 48 complete games also fall into the same historical category as his 1904 wins total, as they are all-time American League single-season records. These 1904 single-season totals for games started and complete games, like the wins total, are also the most recorded by a pitcher in either the American or National League since the beginning of the 20th century and the co-existence of the American and National Leagues as major leagues. If one demarcates 1901 as the beginning of major league baseball's modern era, Jack Chesbro holds the modern era major league historical single-season records for wins by a pitcher (41), games started by a pitcher (51), and complete games pitched (48).

Chesbro was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946 by the Veterans Committee, though he had received little consideration from the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). Some baseball historians consider the 1946 election a mistake, and believe that Chesbro was elected solely on the basis of his 1904 season.

John Dwight Chesbro was born on June 5, 1874, in Houghtonville, a village in North Adams, Massachusetts. He was the fourth of five children of Chad Brown Chesebrough, a shoemaker, and Martha Jane Fralensburgh.

In 1892, Chesbro began playing for a sandlot ball team in Houghtonville. He worked in 1894 as an attendant at the Middletown State Homeopathic Hospital in Middletown, New York in order to play for the Asylums, the team representing the mental hospital. There, an inmate gave Chesbro the nickname "Happy Jack", due to his pleasant demeanor.

Chesbro began his professional career in minor league baseball in 1895. That year, he pitched for the Albany Senators of the New York State League until they folded, at which point he joined the Johnstown Buckskins. When the league disbanded during the season, he joined the Springfield Maroons of the Eastern League. In 1896, Chesbro pitched for the Roanoke Magicians of the Virginia League, until it disbanded. He pitched the remainder of the 1896 season in Cooperstown, New York for the Cooperstown Athletics. There, the local newspaper shortened his last name to "Chesbro" so that it would fit in the box score.

Chesbro pitched for the Richmond, Virginia based Richmond Bluebirds of the Atlantic League from 1897 through 1899. After the 1898 season, he was drafted by Ned Hanlon of the Baltimore Orioles. However, Hanlon took a job with the Brooklyn Superbas and the Orioles were nearly contracted, resulting in Chesbro not signing with Baltimore, as Hanlon allowed the option to lapse. He returned to Richmond for the 1899 season.

Chesbro was sold by Richmond to the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 7, 1899, for $1,500 ($58,050 in current dollar terms). He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Pirates on July 12, 1899. He recorded a 6–9 win–loss record for the 1899 Pirates. After the season, on December 8, 1899, Chesbro was traded with George Fox, Art Madison, John O'Brien, and $25,000 ($967,500 in current dollar terms) to the Louisville Colonels for Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, Bert Cunningham, Mike Kelley, Tacks Latimer, Tommy Leach, Tom Messitt, Deacon Phillippe, Claude Ritchey, Rube Waddell, Jack Wadsworth, and Chief Zimmer. The Louisville club dissolved that offseason, and Chesbro, Fox, Madison and O'Brien were assigned to Pittsburgh in March as the National League (NL) reduced from 12 to eight teams.