Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins,
CMThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, (born December 13, 1942) is a Canadian former
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
right-handed
pitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
. He was a three-time All-Star and the 1971 NL
Cy Young AwardThe Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
winner. In 1991, Jenkins was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 19-year career, he pitched for four different teams, spending the majority of his career with the
Chicago CubsThe Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
. Jenkins also played
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
as a member of the
Harlem GlobetrottersThe Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
.
Early years
In , he was signed by
Philadelphia PhilliesThe Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
scout
Tony LucadelloTony Lucadello was a professional baseball scout for the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies . During his career, he signed a total of 52 players who made it to the Major Leagues, most notably Hall of Famers Ferguson Jenkins and Mike Schmidt...
. Jenkins made his major-league debut as a 22-year-old in as a relief pitcher. He was traded the following year to the
Chicago CubsThe Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
, along with
Adolfo PhillipsAdolfo Emilio Phillips López , is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played from 1964-1972. He would play for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos, and Cleveland Indians. On June 11, 1967, he hit three home runs in one game.-External links:...
and John Herrnstein, for pitchers
Larry JacksonLawrence Curtis Jackson was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies from 1955 to 1968...
and
Bob BuhlRobert Ray Buhl was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Milwaukee Braves , Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies...
. Jenkins would become one of the best pitchers in the majors. In his first full year as a starter for the Cubs (1967), Jenkins recorded twenty wins while posting a 2.80
ERAIn baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
and 236 strikeouts. He finished tied for second in the Cy Young Award voting, following
Mike McCormickMichael Francis McCormick is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the New York Giants from 1956 to 1958, then the San Francisco Giants from 1958 to 1970...
of the
San Francisco GiantsThe San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
. He was also selected for the All-Star Game for the first time that season. The following year his numbers improved; once again he won twenty games, his ERA dropped to 2.63 and his strikeout total increased to 260. Jenkins established a reputation for achieving his pitching feats and his statistics while spending most of his career pitching in a "hitter's ballpark"—
Wrigley FieldWrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Further, in 1968 Jenkins lost five of his starts in 1–0 ballgames.
1971 season
Jenkins had his best season in , playing in the
All-Star GameThe Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
, finishing seventh in MVP voting and winning the
National LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
Cy Young AwardThe Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
. He did this despite the fact
New York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
pitcher
Tom SeaverGeorge Thomas "Tom" Seaver , nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "The Franchise", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1967-1986 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the New York Mets...
had a higher winning percentage, fewer losses, fewer hits allowed per nine innings, more strikeouts, more strikeouts per nine innings, more shutouts, and a lower earned run average than did Jenkins. It is generally conceded that Jenkins's accolades for 1971 (arguably Seaver's best season) were in recognition of his amazing pitching performances of the previous four seasons. Jenkins won 20 games or more and struck out more than 200 batters each of these seasons, while averaging 305 innings pitched and throwing 87 complete games (16 of them being shutouts).
Jenkins was the first Cubs pitcher and the first Canadian ever to win the Cy Young Award. He received 17 of 24 first place votes. Jenkins also posted a .478 slugging percentage, hitting six home runs and driving in twenty runs in just 115 at-bats.
On April 6, 1971, Jenkins started the Cubs' opening-day game. The Cubs defeated the
St. Louis CardinalsThe St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
2–1 in 10 innings at Wrigley Field. Jenkins pitched a complete game for the Cubs, and Billy Williams hit a home run in the final inning for the victory. On September 1, 1971, Jenkins threw another complete game against the
Montreal ExposThe Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
and had two home runs. The Cubs won the game 5–2.
That season, Jenkins threw a complete game in 30 of 39 starts and received a decision in 37 of them, finishing with a 24–13 record (.649). He walked only 37 batters versus 263 strikeouts across 325 innings.
Later career
After the 1973 season Jenkins would be traded to the
Texas RangersThe Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
. In 1974 he would achieve a personal best 25 wins during the season (also a Rangers franchise record which still stands).
Jenkins achieved his 250th win against the
Oakland AthleticsThe Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
on May 23, 1980. Later that year, during a customs search in
TorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Jenkins was found possessing 3.0 grams
cocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, 2.2 grams
hashishHashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...
, and 1.75 grams
marijuanaCannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
. In response, on September 8,
CommissionerThe Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts...
Bowie KuhnBowie Kent Kuhn was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, , to September 30,...
suspended him indefinitely. However, Jenkins' suspension lasted only two weeks before, in an unprecedented action, an independent arbiter reinstated him and he returned to the league. Jenkins was not further punished by MLB for the incident, as he remained active until his retirement following the season. It has been suggested that this incident delayed his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
After Jenkins retired from Major League Baseball in , he pitched for two seasons for the
London MajorsThe London Majors are an independent, minor league baseball team of the, semi-pro, Intercounty Baseball League. The team was founded in 1925, and is based in London, Ontario...
of the Intercounty Major Baseball League operating in
London, OntarioLondon is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
.
Legacy
Jenkins led the league in
winsIn professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...
twice, fewest
walksA base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
per 9 innings five times,
complete gameIn baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...
s nine times, and
home runIn baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s allowed seven times. His streak of six straight seasons with 20 or more wins (1967–1972) is the longest streak in the major leagues since
Warren SpahnWarren Edward Spahn was an American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in the National League. He won 20 games each in 13 seasons, including a 23-7 record when he was age 42...
performed the feat between 1956 and 1961.
Jenkins, fellow Cub
Greg MadduxGregory Alan Maddux , nicknamed "Mad Dog" and "The Professor", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the first pitcher in major league history to win the Cy Young Award for four consecutive years , a feat matched only by Randy Johnson...
(with whom he shared the jersey number 31),
Curt SchillingCurtis Montague "Curt" Schilling is a former American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in and won World Series championships in with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in and with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling retired with a...
, and
Pedro MartínezPedro Jaime Martínez is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He is an eight-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner, and 2004 World Series champion...
are the only major league pitchers to ever record more than 3,000
strikeoutIn baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
s with fewer than 1,000 walks. Only
Robin RobertsRobin Evan Roberts was a Major League Baseball starting pitcher who pitched primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies . He spent the latter part of his career with the Baltimore Orioles , Houston Astros , and Chicago Cubs...
and
Jamie MoyerJamie Moyer is an American professional left handed baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. At the time of his last game to date , he was the oldest player in the major leagues and had the most wins, losses, and strikeouts of any active Major League pitcher...
allowed more home runs over a career. Jenkins achieved his 3000th strikeout on May 25, 1982 against
Garry TempletonGarry Lewis Templeton, nicknamed "Jumpsteady", is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, and New York Mets from 1976 to 1991...
.
He is considered the anchor of the
14 Black AcesThe Black Aces is a book written by former Major League pitcher James "Mudcat" Grant about the only African American pitchers who have won at least 20 Major League Baseball games in a single season. Some black pitchers from Latin America, notably Luis Tiant, have expressed disappointment that they...
, a group of
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
pitchers with at least twenty wins in one season (although Jenkins is actually a
Black Canadian'Black Canadians is a designation used for people of Black African descent, who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The term specifically refers to Canadians with Sub-Saharan African ancestry. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin...
, not African American).
Honors and awards
In Jenkins, then with the
Texas RangersThe Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
(who had acquired him from the Cubs the previous off-season for two players, one of whom was future four-time batting champion
Bill MadlockBill "Mad Dog" Madlock, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball player. From 1973 to 1987, Madlock was a right-handed hitter who won several National League batting titles. His record of four batting titles as a third baseman would be eclipsed in 1988 by Wade Boggs. Since 1970, only Tony Gwynn has...
), became the first baseball player to win the
Lou Marsh TrophyThe Lou Marsh Trophy, also known as the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award, is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, with the vote taking place in December. It was first awarded in 1936...
, an award given annually to Canada's top athlete (he won a career-high, and still a Rangers franchise record, 25 games). He was also named the
Canadian PressCanadian Press Enterprises Inc. is the entity which "will take over the operations of the Canadian Press" according to a November 26, 2010 article in the Toronto Star...
male athlete of the yearThe Lionel Conacher Award is an annual award given to Canada's male athlete of the year. The sports writers of the Canadian Press first conducted a poll to determine the nation's top athlete, of either gender, in 1932. Separate polls for the best male and female athletes were conducted beginning...
four times ' onMouseout='HidePop("37635")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/1968_in_sports">1968
1968 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup:** Men's overall champion: Jean-Claude Killy, France** Women's overall champion: Nancy Greene, Canada-American football:...
, 1971, and 1974).
Jenkins was inducted into the
Canadian Baseball Hall of FameThe Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museums commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada.-History:...
in , and in became the first Canadian ever elected to the
Baseball Hall of FameThe National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
in
Cooperstown, New YorkCooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
. The
1991 Major League Baseball All-Star GameThe 1991 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 62nd playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 9, 1991 at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, the home of the Toronto...
was dedicated to Jenkins; he threw out the ceremonial first pitch to conclude the pregame ceremonies. He was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in . He was appointed the commissioner of the now-defunct
Canadian Baseball LeagueThe Canadian Baseball League, was an independent minor league that operated in 2003. The league's only Commissioner was Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame member Ferguson Jenkins...
in 2003; the league's Jenkins Cup went missing when the league folded and has been missing ever since. Jenkins has been inducted into
Canada's Walk of FameCanada's Walk of Fame , located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful Canadians...
. On December 17, 1979, he was made a Member of the
Order of CanadaThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
for being "Canada's best-known major-league baseball player". Governor General
Michaëlle JeanMichaëlle Jean is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 27th since Canadian Confederation, from 2005 to 2010....
officiated at his investiture into the Order, which finally occurred on May 4, 2007: over 27 years after he was appointed. On May 3, 2009, the Cubs retired jersey number 31 in honor of both Jenkins and
Greg MadduxGregory Alan Maddux , nicknamed "Mad Dog" and "The Professor", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the first pitcher in major league history to win the Cy Young Award for four consecutive years , a feat matched only by Randy Johnson...
.
On December 13, 2010, it was officially announced that Jenkins would be honoured in Canada with his own
postage stampA postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
in 2011 to commemorate
Black history in the month of FebruaryBlack History Month is an observance of the history of the African diaspora in a number of countries outside of Africa. Since 1976, it is observed annually in the United States and Canada in February, while in the United Kingdom it is observed in October...
.
See also
External links