King Cole (baseball)

Leonard Leslie "King" Cole (April 15, 1886 – January 6, 1916) was an American professional baseball player in the early 20th century. He started his baseball career as a pitcher with the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1909.

King Cole
Pitcher
Born: (1886-04-15)April 15, 1886
Toledo, Iowa
Died: January 6, 1916(1916-01-06) (aged 29)
Bay City, Michigan
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
October 6, 1909, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
September 20, 1915, for the New York Yankees
MLB statistics
Win–loss record54–27
Earned run average3.12
Strikeouts298
Teams
Career highlights and awards

With the 1910 Cubs, Cole had a record of 20–4 and helped the team win the National League pennant. On July 31 of that season, he pitched all seven innings in a 4–0 Cubs win over the St. Louis Cardinals, without giving up a hit.[1] It was the second game of a doubleheader: the teams had agreed to end the game at 5 p.m. so they could catch their trains.[2] Due to a 1991 change to the official MLB definition of a no-hitter—it must last at least nine innings—Cole's effort is not recognized by as a no-hitter by MLB.[2]

Cole's 20–4 record in 1910 was the third-best single-season winning percentage (.833) for a Cubs pitcher in the 20th century.[3] Cole was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in May 1912, did not play in the major leagues in 1913, then played for the New York Yankees in 1914 and 1915.[4] On October 2, 1914, Cole gave up a double to Babe Ruth, then a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, for Ruth's first hit in the major leagues.[5]

In 1915, Cole was diagnosed with lung cancer; he died in January 1916.[6]

Ring Lardner wrote about Cole in articles for The Sporting News. Lardner compiled the stories into the Alibi Ike stories.

See also

References
  1. "Chicago Cubs 4, St. Louis Cardinals 0 (2)". Retrosheet. July 31, 1910. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  2. "Close, but no cigar — No-hitters not officially recognized by MLB". nonohitters.com. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  3. "Chicago Cubs Top 10 Single-Season Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  4. Retrosheet
  5. Castrovince, Anthony (July 10, 2014). "Ten facts for 100th anniversary of the Babe's debut". MLB.com. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  6. "'King' Cole, Yank Pitcher Is Dead". The Washington Post. January 7, 1916. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
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