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 Wes and Rick Ferrell Photo Gallery
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Another Edition Of:

“Baseball’s Forgotten Stars!”

Let’s Highlight the Career of Wes Ferrell

I love going through the 1930’s looking for stars who’ve been largely forgotten over the passage of time. And believe me, there’s plenty of them!

So whenever I have the chance to shine the “baseball spotlight” on one of them for a brief moment or two, I’m glad to do it. These are guys who’ve been overshadowed by the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Hank Greenberg, and Lefty Grove, to name only a few of the superstars from that Golden Era of baseball.

One outstanding player who’s largely been lost to time is Wes Ferrell, who played 15 seasons (1927-1941) for the Indians, Red Sox, Senators, Yankees, Dodgers, and Braves.

Wes Had Quite a Career!

Wes Ferrell is the only pitcher in major league history to win twenty games in each of his first four big-league seasons. Primarily a starting pitcher, the two-time All-Star compiled a 193-128 record, and a 4.04 ERA. He started 323 games, completed 227, and tossed 17 shutouts.

His 4.04 ERA seems high to us, but baseball historian Bill James has noted that it must be viewed within the perspective of the heavy-hitting offensive era in which he played. Ferrell’s 4.04 ERA is well-below the average American League ERA during his playing time of 4.54. 

In 1935, he led the American League in wins (25), and threw a no-hitter. He retired with the seventh-highest winning percentage (.601) among pitchers with at least 300 decisions. Plus he accomplished all this for largely mediocre second division teams, and was never on a pennant winner. An excellent fielder, he also finished with the fourth-highest fielding percentage for pitchers (.975) in baseball history.

In addition to his talents as a pitcher, Wes is recognized as possibly the best-hitting pitcher in major league history. His nine home runs in 1931 and his career total of 37 are records which still stand. Over his career he collected 329 hits for a .280 life-time batting average, with 57 doubles, 12 triples, 208 RBI, 175 runs, a .351 on-base percentage, and a .446 slugging average.

Wes Ferrell: A Noted Baseball Hot-Head!

A case can be made that Wes Ferrell belongs in the Hall of fame, but his volatile temper often got in the way of his on-field accomplishments:

“On one occasion, Ferrell refused to be pulled from a game by his manager, and, as a result, was suspended ten days without pay for insubordination.  He was fined and suspended several times for refusing to leave a game, or for leaving it without permission. After being driven from the mound in one game, he punched himself in the face and began to slam his head into the wall. He had to be restrained by his team to stop him from continuing to hurt himself.”

The opinionated Wes Ferrell once commented that he thought his Hall-of-Fame credentials were better than his brother Rick’s—a claim not without some merit. In 1981, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book, “The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time,” in recognition of his being not just a star pitcher but also his hitting prowess, noting that Babe Ruth did most of his hitting when he was no longer a regular pitcher. Wes has been inducted into both the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox Halls of Fame.

Wes Ferrell has one other unique distinction: A noted heart-throb among the female baseball fans of his day, he was once voted “The Most Handsome Player in the Majors”!

The Ferrell Brothers Involved in a Unique Game in Baseball History!

Eighty-six years ago last summer, Wes and Rick were involved in a game played at Fenway Park between the Red Sox and the Indians in which something unique occurred. To my knowledge, it had never happened before and may never happen again.

On July 19, 1933, the two Ferrell brothers on opposite teams, Indian Wes and Red Sox Rick, homered in the same game. Brothers hitting home runs in the same game has happened (unofficially) 40 times in major league history.

But what made this one notable is that both long balls were not only hit in the same game and in the same inning, but Rick hit his homer off his brother, Wes, who was pitching for the Tribe!

Wes, one of baseball’ memorable hot-heads, berated Rick as he rounded the bases: “How dare he hit a home run off his own flesh and blood!” When the umpire gave Wes a new ball, he immediately drop-kicked it into the stands.

One of the Best Brother Combinations Ever!

I highlighted Wes Ferrell’s career above, but here’s a little information about older brother Rick’s career:

In contrast with the irascible Wes Ferrell, older brother Rick was noted for his easy-going demeanor. He played 18 seasons as a catcher (1929-1947) for the Browns, Red Sox, and Senators.

When Rick’s Hall-of-Fame career ended in 1947, he had caught more games (1806) than any other catcher in American League history, a record that stood until Carlton Fisk surpassed it in 1988. His career totals include 1,884 games, with a .281 career batting average. Rick hit over .300 four times, and his on-base percentage (.378) is eighth all-time among the 50 catchers with at least 3,000 at-bats. Ferrell struck out just 277 times to go with 931 walks. An eight-time All-Star with a strong throwing arm, he led American League catchers four times in base-runners caught stealing, and twice in assists and putouts, and posted a career .984 fielding percentage.

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Gary Livacari 

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Information: Excerpts and quote edited from Wes Ferrell Wikipedia page.

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