Plank, "Eddie" (Edward S.)
Baseball
b. Aug. 31, 1875, Gettysburg, PA
d. Feb. 24, 1926
Plank didn't play baseball until he entered Gettysburg College when he was twenty-one years old. A left-handed pitcher, he joined the Philadelphia Athletics after graduating in 1901, the American League's first year as a major league, and had a 17-13 record.
He won 20 or more games each of the next four seasons and eight times in the next fourteen seasons and had an ERA of less than 3.00 every year from 1903 until his retirement after the 1917 season.
The durable Plank led the league in games with 43 in 1903, in complete games with 35 in 1905, in winning percentage with .760 on a 19-6 record in 1906, and in shutouts with 8 in 1907 and 6 in 1911.
At a time when most pitchers worked very fast, Plank was known as a frustratingly slow worker. He relied entirely on a fastball, a curve, and excellent control, often using a sidearm delivery to throw batters off stride.
Plank didn't have much luck in the World Series. He lost two games despite a 1.59 ERA in 1905, when the New York Giants beat Philadelphia in five games, and was 1-1 with a 1.86 ERA in 1911, a six-game victory over the Giants. In 1913, he allowed only 2 earned runs in 19 innings for a 0.95 ERA but was only 1-1 again as the Athletics beat the Giants in five games. And he lost his only start 1-0 in 1914, when the Athletics were swept by the Boston Braves. In Series play, he had a 2-5 record and a 1.15 ERA.
The Federal League, in its second season in 1915, lured Plank away from Philadelphia. He had a 21-11 record with St. Louis, but the league folded after that season and he finished his career with the AL's St. Louis Browns in 1916 and 1917. He died of a stroke at the age of fifty.
In 17 seasons, Plank had a 326-194 record with 69 shutouts and a 2.35 ERA. He struck out 2,246 hitters and walked only 1,072 in 4,495 2/3 innings pitched. Plank gave up fewer walks than any other pitcher with more than 4,000 innings of work.