On August 6, 1890, baseball great Cy Young...
pitched his first professional game, leading the Cleveland Spiders past the Chicago White Sox. Over the course of his 22-year career, Young won at least 509 games and averaged more than 23 victories a season. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937. Born Denton True Young in Gilmore, Ohio, on March 29, 1867, Young earned his nickname when a bystander observed that he could throw a ball with the force of a cyclone. He played for the Cleveland Spiders from 1890 until 1901 before moving to the Boston Red Sox in the American League. He finished his career with the Cleveland Indians, also in the American League. The Cy Young Award, instituted in 1956, is given annually to the best pitcher in each professional league.
Learn more about the history of baseball in the United States and the Caribbean in American Memory:
- Examine additional memorabilia in the American Memory collection Baseball Cards, 1887-1914. See the special presentation "Tinkers to Evers to Chance!" -- a tribute to three of Young's baseball contemporaries.
- Find more pictures and stories of the game. See the special presentation Early Baseball Pictures, 1860s - 1920s in the collection Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s.
- Search across the American Memory collections on baseball, or search the Today in History Archive on baseball to learn about legendary baseball players such as Jackie Robinson, Connie Mack, and Satchel Paige.
