Eppa Rixey

“I finally made it!” Eppa Rixey said in a postcard to his family and friends while visiting Cooperstown after his retirement.

Eppa Rixey was an atypical ball player, coming to the big leagues from the University of Virginia after graduating in 1912 with a degree in chemistry. The left-hander’s talents were spotted by National League umpire Charles Rigler, who was a part of the baseball and basketball staff at the university, both teams on which Rixey participated. Thanks to Rigler’s recommendation, Rixey was brought up to the Philadelphia Phillies without ever having spent any time in the minor leagues. During the offseason, Rixey went back to school to get his master’s in chemistry, also studying math and Latin. He fought off the resentment that other players had for his education by engaging in their hazing and standing his ground when initiated.

With the Phillies, the southpaw won a National League pennant in 1915. However, after leaving baseball in 1918 to serve in World War I with the Chemical Warfare Division in Europe, Rixey returned not quite the same ball player he was when he left. After being traded to the Cincinnati Reds before the 1921 season, things turned around for the pitcher. He won 20 or more games in a season three times, racking up eight consecutive winning seasons with his new team. In 1921, Rixey allowed only one home run in the 301 innings he pitched. In 1922, he led the league with 25 wins and between July 24 and August 28, 1932, the hurler threw 27 consecutive scoreless innings.

The 266-251 career record he compiled came while pitch-ing for many second-division teams. During his 21 seasons, Rixey posted a 3.15 lifetime ERA and completed 290 games. He threw 4,494⅔ innings and struck out 1,350 batters. In 1969, he was named the Reds’ most outstanding lefty by the fans. He was also later inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. Rixey’s win total stood as the National League record for left-handed pitchers until Warren Spahn topped it in 1959. Always witty, at the time Rixey said that he was glad Spahn beat his record because it was a reminder to everyone that he had set it in the first place.