Early Wynn

Early Wynn

Birthdate	1/6/1920
Death Date	4/4/1999
Debut Year	1939
Year of Induction	1972
Teams	Indians, Senators, White Sox
Position	Pitcher

Early Wynn won exactly 300 games despite missing all of 1945 and a portion of 1946 while serving in the United States Army during WWII.

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Wynn took nine months between wins #299 and #300

Early Wynn skipped his senior year of high school to sign with the Washington Senators. Two years later he made his big league debut at age 19. His 23-year career included stops ten years with the Indians, eight with the Senators, and five with the White Sox. Along the way he won 17 or more games in

Wynn's final All Star appearance came in 1960

Shown here is Early Wynn’s 1960 Topps baseball card autographed by the 300-game winner. That season he led the league in shutouts. He also made the last of his seven All Star appearances. Wynn pitched two scoreless frames in the ’60 Mid Summer Classic. He retired six of the seven men he

Being a member of the Hall of Fame has its perks

Being a member of the Hall of Fame has its advantages. In the collection is a 1984 American League season pass issued to Early Wynn. Though quite a few of these passes are issued each year, Wynn ranked highly enough to receive just the 14th pass issued. The other intriguing aspect is that the pass i

Wynn signed the back of his 1984 AL season pass

The reverse of the pass states all the different policies surrounding entrance to the games. The 300-game winner has signed the bottom of the pass as the cardholder. Interestingly there is no uniform policy in Major League Baseball regarding season and lifetime passes. Each club has it’s own s

Ralph Houk made out this check to Wynn in 1985

Ralph Houk was a five-time American League champ and four-time World Series winner. One of the most respected men in the game, Houk’s entire seven-year MLB playing career overlapped with Early Wynn’s. In the collection is a personal check drawn on Houk’s account on March 16, 1985 m

Wynn was known as a fearsome brushback pitcher

Known for his competitiveness, Early Wynn was the master of the brushback pitch. Hall of Fame manager Bucky Harris helped develop Wynn’s penchant for hitting batters. The manager in Wynn’s first four seasons, Harris ordered him to throw brushback pitches when he got two strikes on a batt

A Story about Early Wynn

Lifetime passes were the brainchild of NL President Ford Frick; here’s a pictorial history

June 18th, 2016 Leave a comment

A newspaper man turned league publicist turned league president came up with a brilliant idea in 1934 — reward longtime National League players with a lifetime pass to all NL games. Senior Circuit owners approved Ford Frick’s proposal at the league meeting in December of ’34. A few months later, Frick sent out ornately decorated paper Lifetime Passes to the NL’s greatest players. He even sent one to Babe Ruth who appeared in all of 28 games for the Boston Braves in 1935. A 21-year veteran of the American League, the Babe was grateful if not surprised when he remarked, “At least the National League has a heart”. An image of the original paper pass presented to Hall of Fame outfielder Sliding Billy Hamilton can be seen below. A similar pass curiously issued to Stan Coveleski, a lifetime American Leaguer is also shown. Perhaps shamed by Ruth’s remarks, the American League joined forces in 1936 to issue a pass to all Major League contests. Players with twenty or more years of service received a solid gold pass. Seventeen men qualified for the true “golden ticket” — Ruth, Fred Clarke, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Bill Dahlen, Harry Davis, Red Faber, Walter Johnson, […]