Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Phillies Legends: Grover Cleveland Alexander
In the 1915 World Series, Pat Moran, the Phillies manager, gave the nod for Grover Cleveland Alexander to start Game 1 against the Boston Red Sox. After giving up eight hits in eight innings with just one run to show for it, Alexander took the mound for the ninth inning with a 3-1 lead. Just one out away from a complete game victory, Alexander faced Harry Hooper with a man on second for the Red Sox. Alexander got Hooper to pop out to first base, and the Phillies sealed their victory.
It was a game that only lasted an hour and 58 minutes, and would be the last time that Phillies fans taste playoff success for another 62 years. The Red Sox went on to win four-straight games in the 1915 World Series and be crowned as champions. The Phillies next playoff win came in 1977 in Game 1 of the NLCS against the Dodgers, another series they would ultimately lose. Their next win in a World Series game came in 1980, meaning Alexander was the only pitcher to win a World Series game with the Phillies for 65 years.
Grover Cleveland Alexander was born in Elba, Nebraska on February 26, 1887. He was one of 13 kids in his family and was named after U.S. President, Grover Cleveland who was in office at the time of his birth.
After several stints in semi-pro ball and low professional ball, Alexander was eventually sold to the Philadelphia Phillies for $750. He went on to play 20 seasons in the Majors from 1911 to 1930, and would go down in history as one of the greatest and most successful pitchers of all time.
In his seven seasons with the Phillies, Alexander averaged an impressive 27 wins per season and would have the most wins of any pitcher for five of those years.
He was famous for his off-speed pitches, and his capability to pitch to the low and outside corner of the strike zone. He was a nightmare for the batters that faced him, and his career statistics back that up.
Here is a glance at some of Alexander’s greatest career achievements:
- Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame (1938)
- Third all time in wins - 327
- Second all time in career shutouts - 90
- 15th best career WAR in MLB History - 119.0
- 4th best WAR amongst pitchers
- 3x Triple Crown
- 5x ERA Title
- 1926 World Series Champion (With St. Louis Cardinals)
Alexander amassed 190 wins with a 2.18 ERA and a 1.075 WHIP in his eight seasons with the Phillies (1911-1917, 1930), but he was sent to Chicago to play for the Cubs in 1918. After pitching in just three games for the Cubs that year, Alexander was drafted into the U.S. Army to fight in World War I.
As a result of his time in the war, he was forced to deal with partial hearing loss, frequent epileptic seizures, and a sore pitching arm due to the recoil from firing heavy weaponry.
He would come back to the game for the 1919 season and lead the National League in ERA (1.72), and shutouts (9).
Alexander’s career was filled with impressive successes and dominant performances on the mound, and perhaps what he is most remembered for was his appearance in Game 7 of the 1926 World Series as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. The night before, he had won Game 6, and was called upon again for Game 7 to get the Cardinals out of a major jam.
It was the bottom of the seventh with two outs and the bases loaded. The red hot Tony Lazzeri was at the plate, and after he hooked a potential grand slam just foul, Alexander struck Lazzeri out to end the inning. Alexander went on to complete the eighth and ninth innings of the game, and solidify the Cardinals first ever World Series championship.
In 1938, Alexander was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame to be enshrined forever as one of the game’s greatest pitchers. He received 80.92 percent of the vote, and would go into the Hall as a Philadelphia Phillie.
He passed away in 1950 at the age of 63, but his legacy has and will continue to live on forever.
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