Ralph Head

American baseball player (1893-1962)

Baseball player
Ralph Head
Pitcher
Born: (1893-08-30)August 30, 1893
Tallapoosa, Georgia, U.S.
Died: October 8, 1962(1962-10-08) (aged 69)
Muscadine, Alabama, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 18, 1923, for the Philadelphia Phillies
Last MLB appearance
October 6, 1923, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
Win–loss record2–9
Earned run average6.66
Strikeouts24
Teams
  • Philadelphia Phillies (1923)

Ralph Head (August 30, 1893 – October 8, 1962) was a professional baseball pitcher who played for the 1923 Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Listed at 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) and 175 pounds (79 kg), he threw and batted right-handed.

Biography

Head played minor league baseball during 1913–1917 and 1919–1931;[1] he did not play professionally in 1918 due to military service.[2] He pitched in over 400 minor league games, with a 153–137 win–loss record for seasons with records available.[1]

Head spent the 1923 season with the Philadelphia Phillies, his only major league season.[3] In 35 games (13 starts) he compiled a 2–9 record with a 6.66 earned run average, while striking out 24 batters in 132+1⁄3 innings pitched.[4] The Phillies finished last in the National League in 1923, with a 50–104 record.[5] Two games that Head pitched in are historically notable:

  • Head's start against the New York Giants on June 1, 1923, became the first game in baseball's modern era (since 1900) that a team scored in all nine innings; accomplished by the Giants, in a 22–8 victory.[6][7] Head allowed six runs on six hits, facing 14 batters in 1+2⁄3 innings of work, and was the losing pitcher of the game.[8]
  • Head's final game in the major leagues, played on October 6, 1923, featured shortstop Ernie Padgett of the Boston Braves executing an unassisted triple play.[9] The Phillies lost to the Braves, 4–1, with Head scoring the Phillies' only run.[10]

Head was born in 1893 in Tallapoosa, Georgia.[4] He served in the United States Army during World War I,[2] as a private first class in Company A of the 328th Infantry Regiment; he was wounded in action in October 1918 in Sommerance, France.[11] He died in 1962 in Muscadine, Alabama, and was interred in his hometown.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Ralph Head Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Pittsfield Tackles Hartford Today". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. June 3, 1919. p. 10. Retrieved August 11, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Ralph Head Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Ralph Head". Retrosheet. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  5. ^ "The 1923 Season". Retrosheet. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  6. ^ Jones, Robert E. "Scoring Every Inning". SABR. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  7. ^ Harris, Bruce. "June 1, 1923: New York Giants score in every inning to blast Phillies, 22-8". SABR. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  8. ^ "New York Giants 22, Philadelphia Phillies 8". Retrosheet. June 1, 1923. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  9. ^ Pestana, Mark (2015). "October 6, 1923: Ernie Padgett's unassisted triple play". SABR. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  10. ^ "Boston Braves 4, Philadelphia Phillies 1 (2)". Retrosheet. October 6, 1923. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  11. ^ History of the Three Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Regiment of Infantry, Eighty-Second Division, American Expeditionary Forces, United States Army (PDF). Atlanta: Foote and Davies Co. 1920. p. 173. Retrieved August 11, 2020 – via rareflags.com.
  • Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
  • Ralph Head at Find a Grave
  • Ralph Head at SABR Bio Project