Tommy Bridges

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Thomas Jefferson Davis Bridges (December 28, 1906 – April 19, 1968) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers from 1930 to 1946. During the 1930s he used an outstanding curveball to become one of the mainstays of the team's pitching staff, winning 20 games in three consecutive seasons and helping the team to its first World Series championship with two victories in the 1935 Series. He retired with 1674 career strikeouts, then the eighth highest total in American League history, and held the Tigers franchise record for career strikeouts from 1941 to 1951.

Born in Gordonsville, Tennessee, Bridges attended the University of Tennessee, and after having a 20-strikeout game in the minor leagues he joined the Tigers in 1930 with an auspicious debut, inducing Babe Ruth to ground out on his first major league pitch. On August 5, 1932, he came within one out of throwing a perfect game; it would have been the first in the majors in ten years. He had another 1-hitter on May 24, 1933; he also surrendered Ruth's 700th home run on July 13, 1934. He had a complete game victory in the last game of the 1935 World Series, in which the Tigers scored in the bottom of the 9th inning to capture their first title; he had retired the side in the top of the 9th after Stan Hack led off the inning with a triple. After winning over 20 games in both 1934 and 1935, Bridges led the AL in 1936 with 23 wins, and finished ninth in the MVP voting. Often accused of throwing a spitball, he led the AL in strikeouts in 1935 and 1936, and was among the top ten leaders twelve times. He was a six-time All-Star between 1934 and 1940, missing out only in 1938 due to an injury. In 1941 he set the Tigers' career strikeout record, surpassing George Mullin's mark of 1380.

After serving in the Army during World War II in 1944 and 1945, Bridges returned for a brief stint with the Tigers. He was a member of the Tigers' 1945 World Series championship team, his fourth Series, making a relief appearance in Game 6. Sent to the minors in 1946, he pitched for four years with the Portland Beavers in the Pacific Coast League, throwing a no-hitter and leading the league in ERA in 1947, but never pitched in the majors again. His life outside the major leagues took a downward turn, in part due to alcoholism which developed after his war service. In 1950 Bridges, the son of a doctor, and a player always noted for his soberness and good nature, left his wife for another woman; former teammates were shocked by his appearance. In 1951 he became a scout and coach for the Cincinnati Reds, and he was later a scout for the Tigers and the New York Mets.

Bridges' career record with the Tigers was 194-138 with a 3.57 ERA. His team record for career strikeouts was broken in 1951 by Hal Newhouser, and remained the top mark for a righthander until Jack Morris broke it in 1988.

Bridges died in Nashville, Tennessee at age 61.