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Charles Gardner Radbourn, nicknamed "Old Hoss", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball. He played for Buffalo (1880), Providence (1881โ1885), Boston (National League) (1886โ1889), Boston (Player's League) (1890), and Cincinnati (1891).
Born in New York to immigrants from Bath, England, Radbourn's father moved the family to Bloomington, Illinois. Radbourn played semi-professional and minor league baseball before making his major league debut for Buffalo in 1880. After a one-year stint with the club, Radbourn joined the Providence "Grays." During the
Charles Gardner Radbourn, nicknamed "Old Hoss", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball. He played for Buffalo (1880), Providence (1881โ1885), Boston (National League) (1886โ1889), Boston (Player's League) (1890), and Cincinnati (1891).
Born in New York to immigrants from Bath, England, Radbourn's father moved the family to Bloomington, Illinois. Radbourn played semi-professional and minor league baseball before making his major league debut for Buffalo in 1880. After a one-year stint with the club, Radbourn joined the Providence "Grays." During the 1884 season, Radbourn won 60 games, setting an MLB single-season record that has never been broken, or even seriously approached. He also led the National League (NL) in earned run average (ERA) and strikeouts to win the Triple Crown, and the Grays won the league championship. After the regular season, he helped the Grays win the 1884 World Series, pitching every inning of the three games.
In 1885, when the Grays team folded, the roster was transferred to NL control, and Radbourn was claimed by Boston. He spent the next four seasons with the club, spent one year with the Boston franchise of the single-season Players' League, and finished his MLB career with Cincinnati.
In the 2001 book The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James ranked Radbourn as the 45th-greatest pitcher of all time.
Radbourn is also known for being the first person photographed gesturing the middle finger. In 1886, an image was captured of him "flipping off" a member of the New York Giants in a team photo.
Charles passed away at the age of 43 on February 5, 1897 at his home in Bloomington Illinois. It has been noted that his death was caused by a hunting accident which took his life before a case of syphilis he had supposedly suffered from for years could finish him off.
Radbourn was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.
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Tags: New York (1), Baseball (1), Pitcher (1), Rochester (1), Born 1854 (1), Baseball Hall Of Fame (1), Died 1897 (1), Right-Handed Pitcher (1), Pitching Triple Crown (1), 300 Win Club (1), 19th-Century Baseball (1), Second Generation American (1)
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