Dave Ferriss

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Dave Meadows (Boo) Ferriss (born December 5, 1921) is a former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. He was born in Shaw, Mississippi, a small town in the Mississippi Delta. He was given the nickname 'Boo' as the result of a childhood inability to pronounce the word 'brother'.

Ferriss became the first baseball player to receive a full scholarship to Mississippi State University, and pitched there on the 1941 and 1942 teams. He was drafted by the Red Sox in 1942, but was then called up for military duty during WWII. After being discharged early from the military because of asthma, he was sent to Sox minor league team in Louisville. When the Sox made a slow start, Boo was called up, and made his debut for the Sox on April 29, 1945, pitching a two-hitter. He went on to set the major league record for scoreless innings to start a career, with 22.

He compiled a creditable 21-10 record in his rookie season, and followed it with another excellent season in 1946, going 25-6 on the Sox team that won the American League pennant. Ferris started two games for the Sox in the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, winning one of them, but the Sox lost the series 4-3, Ferris getting a no-decision in the deciding game.

His record in 1947 was a more workmanlike 12-11. Arm troubles and asthma restricted him to 9 games started in 31 appearances in 1948, and by 1950, his playing career was over.

Ferriss was pitching coach for the Red Sox between 1955 and 1959, before becoming head coach of the Delta State University baseball programme. He guided Delta State to a 639-387 record and three appearances in the NCAA Division II College World Series, before retiring in 1988.

Author John Grisham once tried out for a spot on Ferriss' team at Delta State University. He was cut because he could not hit a curve ball.

He is a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, the Mississippi State University Sports Hall of Fame, and the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. On November 14, 2002, he was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.