Jeff Tesreau

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Jeff Tesreau

Charles Monroe Tesreau was an American baseball player. He was born on March 5, 1889 in southeast Missouri. Tesreau initially signed with a minor league team of the St. Louis Browns in 1909. In 1910 his contract was purchased by the New York Giants.

After two years in the minor leagues, Tesreau learned how to throw a spitball. He started the second game of the 1912 season for the Giants. The New York Times wrote, ""Tesreau has curves which bend like barrel hoops and speed like lightning," wrote the New York Times. "He's just the kind of a strong man McGraw has been looking for." In the 1912 World Series, Tesreau went 1-2 against Boston Red Sox ace Smokey Joe Wood.

In 1912, Tesreau was 17-7 and had a league leading ERA of 1.96. ERA officially became a statitic of Major League Baseball in 1912, and therefore Tesreau along with Walter Johnson are the first players to lead the league in that category.

From 1912 to 1917, Tesreau remained a starting pitcher with the Giants. In 1918, he had an argument with John McGraw and quit the Giants in the middle of the season. In 1919, Tesreau refused to play for the Giants. McGraw refused to trade or release Tesreau. Tesreau took a position as baseball coach for Dartmouth College, a position he held until his death on September 24, 1946. He won 348 games as coach for Dartmouth, often coaching against Smokey Joe Wood, the Yale University baseball coach.

Due to his height of 6'2", Tesreau's was given the nickname "Jeff" in reference to half-pint character in the comic Mutt and Jeff.