Lyons, "Ted" (Theodore A.)
Baseball
b. Dec. 28, 1900, Lake Charles, LA
d. July 25, 1986
After having a 10-2 record as a freshman pitcher at Baylor University in 1920, Lyons was offered contracts by the AL's Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Athletics. He chose to remain in college and learned how to throw the knuckleball in his sophomore year.
He signed with the Chicago White Sox immediately after graduating in 1923. A right-handed thrower who was a switch-hitter, Lyons led the league in victories with a 21-11 record and in shutouts with 5 in 1925. He was the league leader in victories again in 1927 with a 22-14 record, when he also led in complete games with 30 and innings pitched with 307 2/3.
Playing most of his career with poor teams, Lyons had just one more 20-win season, in 1930, when he was 22-15 with a league-leading 29 complete games and 297 2/3 innings pitched.
He injured his pitching shoulder in 1931 and appeared in only 21 games that year, but he began concentrating on the knuckleball to prevent strain on his arm.
For the rest of his career, Lyons consistently won between 10 and 15 games a year, though he lost more than he won several times. However, he led the league in shutouts with 4 in 1940, when he had a 12-8 record and a 3.24 ERA, and he was the league leader with a 2.10 ERA in 1942.
After serving in the Marines during World War II, Lyons returned to the White Sox in 1946 and pitched briefly before being named manager. That was the end of his pitching career. He managed Chicago through the 1948 season, then served as a coach for several major league teams.
In 21 seasons, Lyons had a 280-230 record with 27 shutouts and a 3.87 ERA. He struck out 2,073 hitters and walked 1,121 in 4,161 innings.