Sloppy Thurston

Hollis John "Sloppy" Thurston (June 2, 1899 – September 14, 1973) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, and Brooklyn Robins between 1923 and 1933. He batted and threw right-handed.[1]

Sloppy Thurston
Pitcher
Born: Hollis John Thurston
(1899-06-02)June 2, 1899
Fremont, Nebraska
Died: September 14, 1973(1973-09-14) (aged 74)
Los Angeles, California
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 19, 1923, for the St. Louis Browns
Last MLB appearance
October 1, 1933, for the Brooklyn Dodgers
MLB statistics
Win–loss record89–86
Earned run average4.24
Strikeouts306
Teams

Biography

Thurston was born in Fremont, Nebraska, and graduated from John H. Francis Polytechnic High School.[2] He played his first professional game on April 19, 1923, with the St. Louis Browns.

On August 22, 1923, Thurston struck out three batters on nine pitches in the 12th inning of a 3–2 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics. He became the second American League pitcher and the sixth pitcher in major league history to accomplish the "immaculate inning". He is also the first pitcher to achieve the feat in extra innings.

In 1924, while pitching for the Chicago White Sox, Thurston led the American League with 28 Complete Games, posting a 20–14 record in 36 starts, while also leading the league in Hits Allowed (330), Earned Runs Allowed (123), and Home Runs Allowed (17) in 291 innings pitched.

Thurston was a screwball pitcher.[3] He played his last game on October 1, 1933.

Thurston was a strong hitting pitcher in his nine-year major league career, posting a .270 batting average (175-for-648) with 65 runs, 5 home runs, and 79 RBI.

Thurston died on September 14, 1973, in Los Angeles. He is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

See also

References
  1. "Sloppy Thurston Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  2. "Sloppy Thurston". Baseball-Reference.Com. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  3. James, Bill; Neyer, Rob (June 15, 2004). The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers: An Historical Compendium of Pitching, Pitchers, and Pitches. Simon and Schuster. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-7432-6158-6. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
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