Art Nehf

Art Nehf
Pitcher
Born: July 31, 1892
Terre Haute, Indiana
Died: December 18, 1960 (aged 68)
Phoenix, Arizona
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
August 13, 1915 for the Boston Braves
Last MLB appearance
October 3, 1929 for the Chicago Cubs
Career statistics
Win–loss record 184–120
Earned run average 3.20
Strikeouts 844
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Arthur Neukom Nehf (July 31, 1892 – December 18, 1960) was an American baseball pitcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Boston Braves (1915–1919), New York Giants (1919–1926), Cincinnati Reds (1926–1927), and the Chicago Cubs (1927–1929). He was left-handed, 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) and 176 pounds when he made his debut in 1915.

Early life

Nehf was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, and attended the Rose Polytechnic Institute in Terre Haute. His parents were Charles T. Nehf and Wilhelmina Neukom. Art married Elizabeth B. May on November 1, 1916.

Career overview

Besides finishing with a 184–120 record and a 3.20 ERA in 451 games, Nehf had 182 complete games and 28 shutouts (30 including postseason) in 319 starts. He had 13 career saves and also picked up a total of 844 strike outs in 2707 and 2/3 innings pitched.

Some years, he pitched as a starter only, and some as a relief pitcher and a starter, but he was always solid in both roles, earning a reputation around the majors as an always-consistent pitcher.

Batting

Nehf had a .210 career batting average with 8 home runs and 76 RBIs. Of his 8 home runs, 2 came in one game in 1924. It was his only multiple home run season. Art Nehf was the last pitcher to have 3 hits in a World Series Game (Game 1~October 4, 1924) until Orel Hershiser tied that record in 1988.

Major league career

Braves

Nehf as a member of the Boston Braves in 1918.

Nehf came up with the Braves in 1915, and frequented the leaderboards throughout his time with them; he led the league in complete games with 28 in 1918, and showed up in the top 10 in wins, three times, including the year that he was traded to the Giants mid-season. In 1917, Nehf had what is generally thought of as his best season with the Braves, when he went 17-8 with a 2.16 ERA, pitching very consistently, and completing 17 of his 23 starts, with five shutouts, while also finishing seven games on the year. He also had his career-high in strike outs that year with 101, the only time he had more than 100 strike outs.

Giants

Nehf was traded to the Giants for four players and cash on August 15, 1919. He won a career-high 21 games in 1920, his first full year with the Giants. Nehf pitched in four consecutive World Series with the Giants: 1921, 1922, 1923 and 1924. He was the last man to win back to back clinching games in the World Series in 1921 and 1922. In 1924, he defeated Walter Johnson in 12 innings in the WS opener, but the Giants lost to the Washington Senators that year. The Giants won in 1921 and 1922 with the help of Nehf, who had an all-time World Series record of 4–4 with an ERA of 2.16 in twelve games, and nine starts, with six complete games. He had 28 strikeouts all-time in the World Series. Nehf also participated in the 1929 World Series with the Cubs in his last year, as the Cubs lost to the Philadelphia Athletics.

Reds and Cubs

Nehf won 107 games with the Giants, while he lost only 60. After many solid, and sometimes great, seasons with the Giants and then being traded to Cincinnati, and then to Chicago, most thought Nehf's career was virtually over. But he managed to put up one more very good year in 1928 with the Cubs. He went 13-7 with a still very low, 2.65 ERA. That year, he was also involved in a very strange and controversial play against his former team, the Giants. With the Giants in a tight pennant race against the St. Louis Cardinals, their loss in the 1st game of a doubleheader on September 27, 1928, was made all the more controversial. New York's Shanty Hogan hit a ball back to Nehf who threw to third base to get the runner, but the runner Andy Reese was off with the crack of the bat and was already at home plate, knocking over catcher Gabby Hartnett. Hartnett grabbed the runner to keep from falling, and as Hartnett held him, Reese was tagged out by the Cubs third baseman. The Giants bench erupted, but umpire Bill Klem ruled Reese out. The subsequent protest was turned down despite clear pictures showing Reese being held back. The Giants went on to lose the pennant to the Cards by two games. Coincidentally, the Cubs were two games behind that.

Post-playing life

Nehf died of cancer in his home in Phoenix, Arizona in 1960.

Highlights

Honors

The varsity baseball field at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (formerly Rose Polytechnic Institute) is named in Nehf's honor. Art Nehf Field has served as the site for the 2005 and 2006 NCAA Division III Mideast Regional.[1]

Inducted into Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame<!

References

  1. ↑ Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

External links