Hooks Dauss
Encyclopedia
George August "Hooks" Dauss (September 22, 1889 – July 27, 1963) was a Major League
pitcher
who played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers
. Nicknamed 'Hooks' or 'Hookey' because of his hard-to-hit curveball. During his playing career from to , he won
more games than any other pitcher in Detroit Tigers history.
, he began his career with the Tigers in . After having two starts that year, he was 13-12 in 1913, with a 2.48 ERA and 22 complete game
s (2 shutout
s) in 29 starts. He had four appearances as a reliever
that year as well.
He had a similar 1914 season, but in 1915, Hooks won 24 games and lost 13, while ending up with a 2.50 ERA in 309 and 2/3 innings. Along with teammate Harry Coveleski
, Dauss helped make Detroit into a serious contender, winning 100 games and losing 54. However, they finished two and a half games behind the Boston Red Sox
, who would go on to win the 1915 World Series
.
The next year, Dauss won 19 games, but Detroit was not the same team, and they never contended for a World Series
quite like that again. Dauss continued his outstanding, but quiet, success with the Tigers through the teens and into the early 1920s. Dauss won 20 games, twice more, winning 21 in 1919 and 1923. His success earned him a reputation of being one of the most consistently solid pitchers in baseball.
Hooks led the league in batters hit
three times and is 30th on the lifetime list. In 1914, he led the major leagues with 18 hit batsmen, including 3 in one game. On August 24, 1914, he and four Washington Senators pitchers combined to set a record with seven hit batsmen in a game. Dauss hit 3, and Washington pitchers hit 4. The Tigers won 11-0. http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/D/Dauss_Hooks.stm
He finished his career with a record of 222-182 and a 3.30 ERA
in 538 games (388 starts). His 222 wins rank him in the top 100 winning pitchers of all time
, tied with Jerry Koosman
at #70, and he has more wins than any Tigers pitcher in franchise history. He struck out
1201 batters in 3,390-2/3 innings pitched
. As a batter, he batted .189.
Dauss was also an excellent fielding pitcher. His career range factor of 2.28 is 65 points higher than the average pitcher of his era. He had 1128 assists in his career, including 137 in 1915. His career fielding percentage of .968 was also 20 points higher than the average pitcher of his era. In the combined 1923 and 1924 seasons, Dauss was charged with only 1 error in 95 games.
Hooks Dauss died in 1963 at Firmin Desloge Hospital in St. Louis
at age 73.
Major League Baseball
Major 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...
pitcher
Pitcher
In 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...
who played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
. Nicknamed 'Hooks' or 'Hookey' because of his hard-to-hit curveball. During his playing career from to , he won
Win (baseball)
In 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...
more games than any other pitcher in Detroit Tigers history.
Professional playing career
Born in Indianapolis, IndianaIndianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, he began his career with the Tigers in . After having two starts that year, he was 13-12 in 1913, with a 2.48 ERA and 22 complete game
Complete game
In 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 (2 shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
s) in 29 starts. He had four appearances as a reliever
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
that year as well.
He had a similar 1914 season, but in 1915, Hooks won 24 games and lost 13, while ending up with a 2.50 ERA in 309 and 2/3 innings. Along with teammate Harry Coveleski
Harry Coveleski
Harry Frank Coveleski was a Major League Baseball pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and Detroit Tigers. Born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, he began his career with the Phillies in 1907...
, Dauss helped make Detroit into a serious contender, winning 100 games and losing 54. However, they finished two and a half games behind the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, who would go on to win the 1915 World Series
1915 World Series
In the 1915 World Series, the Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies four games to one.In their only World Series before , the Phillies won Game 1 before being swept the rest of the way. It was 65 years before the Phillies won their next Series game...
.
The next year, Dauss won 19 games, but Detroit was not the same team, and they never contended for a World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
quite like that again. Dauss continued his outstanding, but quiet, success with the Tigers through the teens and into the early 1920s. Dauss won 20 games, twice more, winning 21 in 1919 and 1923. His success earned him a reputation of being one of the most consistently solid pitchers in baseball.
Hooks led the league in batters hit
Hit by pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...
three times and is 30th on the lifetime list. In 1914, he led the major leagues with 18 hit batsmen, including 3 in one game. On August 24, 1914, he and four Washington Senators pitchers combined to set a record with seven hit batsmen in a game. Dauss hit 3, and Washington pitchers hit 4. The Tigers won 11-0. http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/D/Dauss_Hooks.stm
He finished his career with a record of 222-182 and a 3.30 ERA
Earned run average
In 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...
in 538 games (388 starts). His 222 wins rank him in the top 100 winning pitchers of all time
Top 100 winning pitchers of all time
This is a list of the top 500 Major League Baseball winningest pitchers. In the sport of baseball, a win is a statistic credited to the pitcher for the winning team who was in the game when his team last took the lead...
, tied with Jerry Koosman
Jerry Koosman
Jerome Martin Koosman is a former left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies between 1967 and 1985...
at #70, and he has more wins than any Tigers pitcher in franchise history. He struck out
Strike Out
Strike Out, , North American Harness racing championStrike Out was born in 1969 at Castleton Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, and is by Bret Hanover out of the mare Golden Miss....
1201 batters in 3,390-2/3 innings pitched
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...
. As a batter, he batted .189.
Dauss was also an excellent fielding pitcher. His career range factor of 2.28 is 65 points higher than the average pitcher of his era. He had 1128 assists in his career, including 137 in 1915. His career fielding percentage of .968 was also 20 points higher than the average pitcher of his era. In the combined 1923 and 1924 seasons, Dauss was charged with only 1 error in 95 games.
Hooks Dauss died in 1963 at Firmin Desloge Hospital in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
at age 73.
Leaderboards
- SavesSave (sport)In baseball, a save is credited to a pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. The number of saves, or percentage of save opportunities successfully converted, is an oft-cited statistic of relief pitchers...
- 1st in 1914 (4) tied with 4 others, Top 5, four other times (1918, '22, '24, '26) - Win - Top 5, five times (1914, '15, '16, '19, '23)
- ShutoutShutoutIn team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
s - Top 5, twice (1917, '23) - ERAEarned run averageIn 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...
- Top 5, once (1925) - Ranks 70th all time in wins among Major League pitchers
See also
- Detroit Tigers team recordsDetroit Tigers/Team records-Single season records:- Career records :-Tigers hitting for the cycle:* Bobby Veach, September 17, 1920* Bob Fothergill, September 26, 1926* Gee Walker, April 20, 1937* Charlie Gehringer, May 27, 1939* Vic Wertz, September 14, 1947...
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
- List of Major League Baseball saves champions
- MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen ListMLB All-Time Hit Batsmen ListThis is a list of top 100 Major League Baseball pitchers who have the most hit batsmen of all time. There is an of hitters who have been hit by pitch the most times.Active players are denoted in bold text.-The List:* Bold denotes active player...
- 1915 Detroit Tigers season1915 Detroit Tigers seasonThe Detroit Tigers won a club-record 100 games and narrowly lost the American League pennant to the Boston Red Sox who won 101 games. Though four other Tigers teams have won 100 games , only the 1934 Tigers had a better winning percentage...