March 7

⚾ Elixir of Brown-Sequard - Pud Galvin March 7

March 07, 2025

March 7, 1902 in Pittsburgh, PA James, the winningest pitcher to ever suit up for the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise. He joined the team having already won 222 games by the age of 28, and by the time he retired following the 1893 season, he would be the major league leader in wins with 365. That was a record he would hold until he was passed by Cy Young in 1903.

Pittsburgh purchased Galvin from the Buffalo Bisons of the National League on July 13, 1885. He went just 3-7 that first year for the Alleghenys and the team went 13-26 from August 1st until the end of the season. The next year Galvin was back in form, winning 29 games and pitching 434 innings. He helped Pittsburgh to a 80-57 record, which in turn helped lead to their invitation to leave the American Association and join the National League the following season.

Galvin was Major League Baseball's first 300-game winner. Playing in an era in which two-man pitching rotations were common, he amassed 6,003 innings pitched, and 646 complete games, both of which are second only to the career totals of Cy Young. Incredibly, he pitched over 70 complete games in both 1883 and 1884 and 65 in 1879, all with the Buffalo Bisons. Galvin is the only player in baseball history to win 20 or more games in 10 different years without winning a pennant, finishing his career with a total of 365 wins and 310 losses. The 365 ranks 5th all time,

2006 NPR article referred to Galvin as "the first baseball player to be widely known for using a performance-enhancing substance." The Washington Post reported that Galvin used the Brown-Séquard elixir, which contained monkey testosterone, before a single game in 1889. However, no one seemed bothered by the use of the elixir, and the newspaper practically endorsed it after the game, saying that Galvin's performance was "the best proof yet furnished of the value of the discovery."

Listen to NPR and the author of the book on Pud Galvin Brian Martin on the Podcast!

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Game of the Day - October 5 1941 World Series Game 4 New York Yankees at Brooklyn Dodgers. Mickey Owen makes a historic blunder.

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Trivia:

Pud Galvin has 365 wins to his credit good for 5th all time. Cy Young is first with 511. Can you name the players between them and how many wins they have each?

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March 7, 1919 -- Christy Mathewson, back from the World War I, rejoins the New York Giants as pitching coach and heir apparent to John McGraw.

March 7, 1914, George Herman Ruth Jr. hit his first home run as a professional baseball player and gained the nickname “Babe” in Fayetteville.

March 7, 1940 – Larry MacPhail continues his dealing and gets his catcher. The Dodgers trade for Mickey Owen, giving Gus Mancuso and $85,000 to the Cardinals.

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Born: March 7, 1950 in Vienna, LA . . . Among the most tragic figures in baseball annals is 6'8" J.R. Richard. With a fastball clocked as high as 100 mph, the Louisianan signed with Houston as their first pick in 1969, passing up 200 basketball scholarship offers. Facing the Giants on September 5, 1971, he fanned 15 batters to tie Karl Spooner's record for most strikeouts in a major league debut. But he pitched mostly in the minors until 1975

Born: March 7, 1960 in Oklahoma City, OK, The exclamation point on Carter’s fine career was his three-run, ninth-inning homer off the Phillies’ Mitch Williams that gave the Blue Jays their second straight World Series victory in 1993. After Bill Mazeroski’s blast in 1960, it was only the second Series-ending homer in baseball history. His gleeful romp around the bases amid the Skydome pandemonium capped one of the most dramatic moments of the decade.

March 7 , 1962 – KPRC-AM introduces Gene Elston and Al Helfer as the Colts’ first radio play-by-play team. Loel Passe, a local favorite after his years with the Houston Buffs, is later added to the crew. Although Helfer leaves after the first year, Elston and Passe would be together for the next fourteen seasons. Elston would remain with the club through 1986.

Cooperstown Calls - On March 7, 1979, Slugging outfielder Hack Wilson and longtime executive Warren Giles are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.; The Special Veterans Committee elects former major leaguers Richie Ashburn and Vic Willis, former National League president William Hulbert, and former Negro League player Leon Day to the Hall of Fame. Day will die of a heart attack six days from now.

Passing: March 7, 1991, Hall of Famer James “Cool Papa” Bell dies at the age of 87. An outfielder with blazing speed, Bell played in the Negro Leagues from 1922 to 1946. Bell entered the Hall of Fame in 1974, joining fellow Negro Leagues stars Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, and Monte Irvin in Cooperstown.

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Quote of the day:

Mathewson was the greatest pitcher who ever lived. He had knowledge, judgment, perfect control and form. It was wonderful to watch him pitch when he wasn't pitching against you." - Connie Mack