Banners & Flag

Grover Cleveland "Pete" Alexander (February 26, 1887 - November 4, 1950) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938. more...

Home
All Star Game
Anaheim Angels
Arizona Diamondbacks
Atlanta Braves
Autographs-Original
Baltimore Orioles
Baseball & Softball Items
Boston Red Sox
Chicago Cubs
Banners & Flag
Bobbleheads
Caps, Hats
Jackets
Jerseys
Jewelry & Watches
Keychains
Other Items
Pennants
Photos, Prints
Pins, Buttons
Posters
Publications
Shirts
Signs
Tickets
Chicago White Sox
Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland Indians
Colorado Rockies
Defunct Teams
Detroit Tigers
Florida Marlins
Houston Astros
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Dodgers
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins
Minors
Montreal Expos
Negro Leagues
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Oakland Athletics
Other
Other MLB Items
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
Playoffs
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
Seattle Mariners
St. Louis Cardinals
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Texas Rangers
Toronto Blue Jays
Washington Nationals
World Series

Alexander was born in Elba, Nebraska. Alexander was one of thirteen children and played semi-pro ball in his youth. He signed his first professional contract at age 20 in 1907 for $50 per month. He had a good first season, but it was marred by a beaning that probably contributed to later bouts with epilepsy. This incident set his career back, but he had recovered by 1910, became a star pitcher again, and was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies for $750.

In his 1911 debut, Alexander led the league with 28 wins (a modern-day rookie record), 31 complete games, 367 innings pitched, and seven shutouts while finishing second in strikeouts and fourth in ERA. From 1912 to 1920, Alexander led the league in ERA five times (1915, 1916, 1917, 1919, and 1920), wins six times (1911, 1914-17, 1920), innings seven times (1911, 1912, 1914-17, 1920), strikeouts six times (1912, 1914-1917, 1920), complete games five times (1914-1917, 1920), and shutouts six times (1913, 1915, 1916 , 1917, 1919). He won pitching's Triple Crown in 1915, 1916, 1917 and 1920. In 1915, he was instrumental in leading the Phillies to their first pennant, and he also pitched a record four one-hitters.

After the 1917 season, the Phillies sold Alexander to the Cubs, ostensibly fearful that he would be lost to the army in World War I, but as Phillies owner William Baker admitted later, "I needed the money". Sure enough Alexander was drafted, and spent most of the 1918 season in France as an artillery officer, where he suffered from shell shock, partial hearing loss, and increasingly worse seizures. Always a drinker, Alexander hit the bottle particularly hard after the war. He still gave Chicago several successful years, however, and grabbed another pitching triple crown in 1920. Finally tiring of his increasing drunkenness and insubordination, the Cubs sold him to the Cardinals in the middle of the 1926 season for the waiver price.

The Cardinals won the National League pennant that year and met the New York Yankees in the World Series, where Alexander had his finest moment. He pitched complete game victories in Games 2 and 6 before coming into the seventh inning of Game 7, after Jesse Haines developed a blister, with the Cardinals up 3-2 the bases loaded and two outs. Facing Yankee slugger Tony Lazzeri, Alexander got him to strike out and then held the Yankees scoreless for two more innings to preserve the win and give St. Louis the championship. Alexander had one last 20-win season for the Cardinals in 1927, but his continued drinking finally did him in. He left baseball after a brief return to the Phillies in 1930 and pitched for the House of David until 1938. Alexander died on November 4, 1950 in St. Paul, Nebraska at the age of 63.

Read more at Wikipedia.org