The Deacon and the Schoolmaster

Among the great pitchers in baseball history, Charles “Deacon” Phillippe and Samuel “The Schoolmaster” Leever are hardly household names. But during the first decade of the twentieth century, these two Pittsburgh Pirates were among the most celebrated pitchers in the majors. From 1900 through 1906, they posted a combined record of 261 victories against 131 losses for a win-loss percentage of .666. During the years Deacon and the Schoolmaster pitched together, the Pirates never finished out of the first division, won four National League pennants, and came in second four times. Without flamboyance or controversy to color their legacy, their fame faded quickly after their playing days. But they remain among the most important players in the history of the club.

Robert Peyton Wiggins, a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, works in the University of Virginia Health System. The author of several books, he won the 2010 SABR Larry Ritter Award for the Society for American Baseball Research for his book, The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs (McFarland, 2009). He lives in Virginia.

Robert Peyton Wiggins
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 296
Bibliographic Info: 23 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2011
pISBN: 978-0-7864-5842-4
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8602-1
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      ix
Preface      1

1. Charles Louis Phillippe      7
2. The Goshen Schoolmaster      26
3. A New Era in Pittsburgh      45
4. A Pennant Comes to Pittsburgh      63
5. The Best Pitching in Baseball      85
6. Three in a Row      114
7. The First World Series      133
8. Mugsy McGraw’s Giants      148
9. Transition      178
10. World Series Champions      197
11. Swan Song      221
12. With the Outlaws      236
13. Life After Baseball      251

Appendix: Career Pitching Summaries      259
Chapter Notes      261
Bibliography      275
Index      277