Don Elston
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Donald Ray (Don) Elston (April 6, 1929 - January 2, 1995) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs (1953, 1957[end], 1958-64) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1957[start]). Elston batted and threw right handed. He was born in Campbellstown, Ohio.
A hard-thrower pitcher, Elston played for perennially weak Chicago Cubs teams for most of his nine-year major league career. He began as a starter, but after switching to the bullpen, he became one of the best relievers in the National League. He led the league with 69 relief appearances in 1958, setting a club mark, and In 1959, he tied with teammate Bill Henry with 65 appearances for the league lead. In that season Elston had a career-high 10 victories and was selected for the All-Star Game 1. He came in the ninth inning to preserve a 5–4 victory over the American League.
In 450 career games, Elston posted a 49-54 record with a 3.70 ERA and 63 saves.
Elston died in Arlington Heights, Illinois, at 65 of age.
[edit] Quotation
- Elroy Face was 18-1 with Pittsburgh in 1959. I was traveling with the Cubs. The Cubs had two relief pitchers: right-hander Don Elston and left-hander Bill Henry. They were constantly protecting leads and no one even knew about it. The year Elroy Face was 18-1 he blew 10 leads. Did you know that? But they had such a good-hitting team they came back in the last inning and won the game for him. Elston and Henry were terrific. – Jerome Holtzman, Hall of Fame writer and MLB official historian [1]
