Eddie Plank (1946)


Date of Birth: 8/31/1875
Date of Death: 2/24/1925
Birthplace: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
College: Gettysburg College

Eddie Plank started playing baseball while he was at Gettysburg Academy, a prep school connected with Gettysburg College. He played with the college team even though he never attended that school. The first professional baseball team he signed with was a minor league team, the Richmond Colts of the Virginia League. However, the league folded before he ever had the chance to play with them.

Philadelphia Athletics

Plank signed with the Philadelphia Athletics in May, 1901. He pitched in 33 games that season with a 17-13 record, 90 strikeouts to 68 walks, and a 3.31 ERA. The next year, he had similar numbers, with 20 wins and 15 losses, 107 strikeouts to 61 walks, and a 3.30 ERA in 300.0 innings in 36 games.

Plank pitched in 43 games in 1903. He finished the season with 23 wins and 16 losses, 176 strikeouts to 65 walks, and a 2.38 ERA in 336.0 innings.

In 1904, Plank had career highs in games played (44), innings pitched (357.1), and wins (26 to 17 losses). The following season, he had a career high 210 strikeouts and he led the AL in complete games pitched with 35.

Plank pitched in just 26 games in 1906. He finished the season with 19 wins to 6 losses, 108 strikeouts to 51 walks, and a 2.25 ERA in 211.2 innings. He was back to a full schedule of games in 1907, pitching 343.2 innings in 43 games. That year, he had 24 wins and 16 losses, 135 strikeouts to 46 walks, and a 2.17 ERA. He led the AL in shutouts in 1907 with 8.

In 1908, Plank had a 2.17 ERA in 244.2 innings in 34 games. His win-loss record, however, was not good with 14 wins to 16 losses. The following year, he improved greatly, finishing with a career low ERA of 1.76. He finished the 1909 season with 19 wins and 10 losses in 265.1 innings in 34 games. His numbers in 1910 were similar, with 16 wins and 10 losses and a 2.01 ERA in 250.1 innings in 38 games.

Plank led the AL in shutouts again in 1911, this time with six shutouts. In 40 games, he had 23 wins and 8 losses, 149 strikeouts to 77 walks, and a 2.10 ERA in 256.2 innings.

Plank finished the 1912 season with a career high 26 wins to just 6 losses. He had a 2.22 ERA in 259.2 innings in 37 games. The next year, he had 18 wins and 10 losses, 151 strikeouts to 57 walks, and a 2.60 ERA in 242.2 innings in 41 games. In 1914, his last year with the Athletics, he had 15 wins and 7 losses and a 2.87 ERA in 185.1 innings in 34 games.

Final Years as a Player

In 1915, Plank left the Athletics to join the St. Louis Terriers of the Federal League. The team and league folded after the season and Plank played his last two seasons with the St. Louis Browns (modern day Baltimore Orioles). In his last season in the major leagues (1917), Plank had a 5-6 record with 26 strikeouts to 38 walks and a 1.79 ERA in 20 games. He retired after the 1917 season.

Career Statistics

Statistics for Plank in 17 seasons (1901-1917) in the major leagues include:

  • 8 seasons with 20 or more wins, with a high of 26 in 1904 and 1912
  • 5 seasons with over 150 strikeouts, with a high of 210 in 1905
  • 15 seasons with an ERA under 3.00, with a low of 1.76 in 1909

Career pitching statistics for Plank include:

  • 623 games played
  • 4,495.2 innings pitched
  • 326-194 win-loss record
  • 2,246 strikeouts to 1,072 walks
  • 2.35 ERA

Postseason statistics for Plank include:

  • 4 postseasons
  • 7 games played
  • 54.0 innings pitched
  • 2-5 win-loss record
  • 32 strikeouts to 11 walks
  • 1.33 ERA

Post Playing Career

Plank retired as a major league player in October, 1917. The following year, he pitched in an industrial league team. He died on February 24, 1925, after suffering a stroke. A biography of Plank by Lawrence Knorr was published in 2018 ("Gettysburg Eddie: The Story of Eddie Plank").

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Eddie Plank
ESPN - Eddie Plank
Baseball Reference - Eddie Plank

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