Southpaw pitcher Rube Waddell died of tuberculosis at the age of 37 on April 1, 1914. The Hall of Famer compiled a 193-143 (.574) record and a 2.16 ERA during his 13 seasons with the Colonels, A’s, Pirates, and Browns.
On January 10, 1945, it was announced that the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) did not elect any new members for the Hall of Fame that year. The top vote-earners were Frank Chance (72.5%), Rube Waddell (62.3%), and Ed Walsh (55.5%). Though they fell short of the necessary three-fourths of the ballots to be selected, all three would become inductees when chosen by the Veterans’ committee in 1946.
Cy Young threw the first perfect game in American League history on May 5, 1904. In the game, Young led the Red Sox to a 3-0 victory over Rube Waddell and the Philadelphia A’s. It also marked the first perfect game in the majors since 1893, when the distance from the mound to the plate was changed from 45 feet to 60 feet, 6 inches.
On August 19, 1900, Milwaukee pitcher Rube Waddell pitched two complete games in both contests of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox. He threw 17 innings in the first game, then was coaxed (with a promise of a few days off to go fishing) by manager Connie Mack to pitch the nightcap, in which Waddell threw a five-inning one-hitter. Milwaukee won both games, 2-1 and 1-0.
On July 1, 1902, A’s pitcher Rube Waddell became the first American League pitcher to throw an immaculate inning. In the third* inning, Waddell struck out Billy Gilbert, Harry Howell, and Jack Cronin on nine consecutive pitches. He gave up only two hits over the course of the game, facing the minimum 27 batters en route to a 2-0 victory.
Rube Waddell pitched five innings of no-hit, shutout baseball on August 15, 1905 at Columbia Park in Philadelphia. His effort led the A’s to victory over the St. Louis Browns, 2-0, as he struck out nine of the fifteen batters he faced. A sudden, wet downpour shortened the performance, however, and Waddell was not credited with a no-hitter.
