Urban Shocker

Urban Shocker
Pitcher
Born: August 22, 1890(1890-08-22) Cleveland, Ohio
Died: September 9, 1928(1928-09-09) (aged 38) Denver, Colorado
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 24, 1916 for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
May 30, 1928 for the New York Yankees
Career statistics
Win-Loss	187-117
ERA	3.17
Strike outs	983
Teams
New York Yankees (1915–1916, 1925–1928) St. Louis Browns (1918–1924)
Career highlights and awards
Won 20 or more games in four consecutive seasons In 1921, had a league leading 27 wins In 1922, led the AL in strikeouts with 149

Urban James Shocker (August 22, 1890 – September 9, 1928), born Urbain Jacques Shockor in Cleveland, Ohio, was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees and St. Louis Browns from 1916 to 1928.

As a prelude to his major league career, Shocker spent the bulk of the 1916 season demoted by the Yankees to Toronto of the International League for seasoning and to prove himself. Notably, in 1916 the Yankees had yet to garner a single World Series crown while the Red Sox had two under their belt and would win their third that season. Shocker posted a marvelous 15–3 and strung together 54 consecutive scoreless innings. His scoreless inning streak and 1.31 ERA for the campaign both still stand as International League records. He was called up by the Yankees and played with them through the 1917 season. That winter Miller Huggins engineered a trade to the Browns that he came to regret. Shocker rejoined Huggins and the Yankees in 1925.

The right-handed hurler had four consecutive 20-win seasons with the Browns in the early 1920s, during which he was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. Urban was the last Yankee pitcher to legally throw a spitball, as he and a handful of other pitchers were grandfathered into the practice after it was banned by baseball in 1920.

After his release from the Yankees in 1928, Shocker entered an exhibition tournament in Denver. He pitched in one game on August 6 against a team from Cheyenne, Wyoming and fared poorly in that outing. Around this time, he contracted pneumonia and was hospitalized shortly thereafter. He died in Denver as the result of a weakened heart caused by the disease.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
• List of Major League Baseball saves champions
• List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
• List of Major League Baseball wins champions

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Urban Shocker at Find a Grave
• Tribute to the forgotten spitballer
• The Deadball Era

Preceded by Jim Bagby	American League Wins Champion 1921 (with Carl Mays)	Succeeded by Eddie Rommel
Preceded by Walter Johnson	American League Strikeout Champion 1922	Succeeded by Walter Johnson