| Hooks Dauss | |
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| Pitcher | |
| Born: September 22, 1889 Indianapolis, Indiana |
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| Died: July 27, 1963 (aged 73) St. Louis, Missouri |
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| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| September 28, 1912 for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 19, 1926 for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Career statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 222-182 |
| Earned run average | 3.30 |
| Strikeouts | 1201 |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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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 1912 to 1926, he won more games than any other pitcher in Detroit Tigers history.
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Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, he began his career with the Tigers in 1912. After having two starts that year, he was 13-12 in 1913, with a 2.48 ERA and 22 complete games (2 shutouts) 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. [1]
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.
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