Born in Jackson Mississippi, Ewell Russell was quickly nicknamed Reb by his Chicago White Sox teammates, and the left-hander responded by winning 22 games in his rookie year – 22-16, with a sterling 1.91 earned run average, the 5th best in the AL, and, led the league with 51 games, completing 25-of-36 starts during the dead ball era. Although he never again won 20 games, his pitching record was fairly consistent during his 8-full-year tenure with the Chi-Sox…having an ERA in the range of 1.91 to 2.90. Russell tossed 23 complete game career shutouts, including a career-high 7 in his rookie year of 1913. Reb Russell pitched just one game in 1919 – the year the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series, and eight of his teammates were banned after that from baseball. A good hitter he returned to the majors as an outfielder for the Pirates in 1922. Reb Russell career stats: 75-59, 2.34 ERA, 241 Games, 148 GS, 80 GC, 1127 Hits in 1291 innings, 495 Ks, 267 Walks, 23 Shutouts… career batting - .268 BA, 48 Doubles, 25 Ts, 21 Hrs, 262 hits in 976 at bats. baseballhistorian.com – Dead Ball Era Baseball History baseballhistorian.com |