Pud Galvin

In the history of Pirate pitchers, perhaps no pitcher is as high on career total lists, yet virtually unknown to fans as Pud Galvin. Galvin was a pioneer, as he was the first player to reach 300 wins, the first to throw a no-hitter on the road, and surprisingly the first to experiment with performance enhancers.

Born on Christmas Day 1856 in St. Louis, James Galvin would start his professional career pitching for the St. Louis Brown Stockings of the National Association in 1875 at the age of 18. It was here in St. Louis that Galvin got the nickname of Pud, as he made the other batters look like pudding. Additionally Galvin was also known for a very deceptive pickoff move that kept runners close.

In 1879 Galvin started 66 games for the Buffalo Bison of the National League. He won 37 of those games, while losing 27 games. Galvin followed that up with a 20 win season and two straight 24 win seasons.

In the 1883, Galvin was 46-22 and led the NL in games, starts, complete games, innings pitched and shutouts. In 1884 he won 46 games, second in the league. He threw three shutouts against Detroit between August 2 and August 8, including a no-hitter on August 4, becoming the second pitcher in ML history with two or more no-hitters. His 396 strikeouts in 1884 were a career high.

Galvin was purchased by the Alleghenys midway through 1885 for a price of either $600 or $5000. In 1886 in his first full season in Pittsburgh, Galvin won 29 games, but had seemed to lose his knack for the strikeout as he only fanned 72 batters. Galvin did not need the strikeout as he was a wizard on the mound.

The next three years for the Alleghenys, Galvin would win 74 games for the club. He was a mark of consistency for the club. 1889 would mark Galvin's last superhuman season, as the years of pitching were starting to show in his arm. It was perhaps this slowdown in performance that led him to try performance enhancers, to get his old edge back.

Prior to a game in 1889 against Boston, Galvin took Brown-Sequard Elixer, a hormone injection from the testicles of hamsters and dogs, pioneered by Charles-Edouard Brown-Sequard, the man who was the inspiration for Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde. The elixir supposedly was key in Galvin victory that day, and the Washington Post had this to say about the miracles of the "drug":

"If there still be doubting Thomases who concede no virtue of the elixir, they are respectfully referred to Galvin's record in yesterday's Boston-Pittsburgh game. It is the best proof yet furnished of the value of the discovery."

Realizing that he was near the end of his career and needed to get more money, Galvin was one of the players that jumped to the Pittsburg Burgers of the Players League in 1890.  On the mound for the Burgers, Galvin only won 12 games.

Pud returned to the Pirates in 1891, where he pitched 246 innings, his lowest total to that mark, in winning only 14 games. The following year Galvin split between Pittsburgh and St. Louis, winning only 10 games and throwing only 188 innings. After the season Galvin called it quits at the age of 35.

Pud would return to Pittsburgh to live out the rest of his life. Galvin would die in 1902, at the age of 45, penniless in a Pittsburgh boarding house. A collection was taken up by Pirate fans of the time to pay for his funeral and burial in Calvary Cemetery in Pittsburgh.

Galvin played in an era where pitchers could rack up some great totals. Many like Galvin, still sit atop the leader boards in baseball history.When he retired in 1892, he was the all-time major league leader in wins, innings pitched, games started, games completed and shutouts. He is the only player in baseball history to win 20 or more games in 10 different years without winning a pennant.

Galvin was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1965, where he is remembered as one of the great pre-modern era pitchers, maybe the best, and definitely one of the great hurlers in Pittsburgh history.

Career Stats:

Years	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA
1875-92	364	310	705	689	646	57	6003.3	6405	3355	1910	122	745	1806	2.86