Candy Cummings Stats

Candy Cummings was born on Wednesday, October 18, 1848, in Ware, Massachusetts. Cummings was 27 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 22, 1876, with the Hartford Dark Blues. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Candy Cummings baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"In the version of the discovery most often heard, (Candy) Cummings developed the curved pitch after watching the erratic flights of clam shells picked up on a beach near his Brooklyn home and flung into the wind. Martin Quigley, in his book The Crooked Pitch (1984), quotes Cummings, somewhat fancifully, it seems: 'I thought what a wonderful thing it would be if I could make a baseball curve like that.' As the story goes, he started to experiment with the curve in games played among boys in the neighborhood, learning the way that finger pressure and wind direction had a great deal to do with the result." - Author Joseph M. Overfield in Baseball's First Stars (SABR, 1996) [Candy Cummings Quotes]

Candy Cummings



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Birth Name:   William Arthur Cummings
Nickname:   Candy or Father of the Curveball
Born On:   10-18-1848  (Libra)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Ware, Massachusetts
Year of Death Data Died On:   05-16-1924 (500 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Toledo, Ohio
Cemetery:   Aspen Grove Cemetery, Ware, Massachusetts Click For Grave Photo
High School:   Fulton High School (Fulton, NY)
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   5-09   Player Weight Chart Weight:   120
First Game:   04-22-1876 (Age 27)
Last Game:   08-18-1877
Draft:   Not Applicable

Candy Cummings

Candy Cummings Pitching Stats

1876 28 Dark Blues 24 24 0 16 8 .667 1.67 24 5 0 216.0 913 215 40 97 0 14 - 26 7 0 0 0
1877 29 Reds 19 19 0 5 14 .263 4.34 16 0 0 155.2 709 219 75 144 2 13 - 11 15 0 0 0
2 Years 43 43 0 21 22 .488 2.78 40 5 0 371.2 1,622 434 115 241 2 27 - 37 22 0 0 0

Candy Cummings

Candy Cummings Hitting Stats

1876 28 Dark Blues 24 105 14 17 3 0 0 0 7 0 0 3 - - 0 - .162 .162 .190
1877 29 Reds 19 70 6 14 1 2 0 0 4 4 - 6 - - 0 - .200 .243 .271
2 Years 43 175 20 31 4 2 0 0 11 4 0 9 - - 0 - .177 .196 .223

Candy Cummings

Candy Cummings Fielding Stats

1876 Dark Blues P 24 24 648 38 1.6 36 9 27 2 0 n/a n/a n/a .947 1.50
1877 Reds OF 3 - - 7 2.3 6 5 1 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .857 0.00
1877 Reds P 19 19 467 40 2.1 37 6 31 3 0 n/a n/a n/a .925 2.14
P Totals 43 43 1,115 78 1.8 73 15 58 5 0 n/a n/a n/a .936 1.77
OF Totals 3 0 0 7 2.3 6 5 1 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .857 0.00
2 Years 46 43 1,115 85 1.8 79 20 59 6 0 n/a n/a n/a .929 1.91

Candy Cummings

Candy Cummings Miscellaneous Stats

1876 Dark Blues - - - 0 0 n/a 0.0 35.0 15.0 1.86 1.08 0.58
1877 Reds - - - 0 0 n/a 0.0 11.7 17.5 0.85 0.64 0.75
2 Years - - - 0 0 n/a 0.0 19.4 15.9 1.37 0.90 0.65

Candy Cummings

Candy Cummings Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1876 Hartford Dark Blues n/a Undetermined n/a n/a
1877 Cincinnati Reds n/a Undetermined n/a n/a

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In 1883, Francis Richter founded The Sporting Life, a weekly magazine devoted to coverage of all sports, with an emphasis on baseball. In 1887, Richter, and other baseball journalists, formed the Base Ball Reporters Association of America, also referred to as the National Base Ball Reporters' Association. And in 1914, Richter wrote the History and Records of Baseball: the American Nation's Chief Sport (Philadelphia: Sporting Life Publishing Co., 1914). In that historic book, Richter selected the greatest players in each position in each decade:

Greatest Players by Decade

Decade Catchers Catchers
1870-1880 Doug Allison Deacon White
1880-1890 Charlie Bennett Buck Ewing
1890-1900 Tom Daly Yank Robinson
1900-1912 Chief Meyers Billy Sullivan
Decade Pitchers Pitchers
1870-1880 Candy Cummings Al Spalding
1880-1890 John Clarkson Old Hoss Radbourn
1890-1900 Amos Rusie Cy Young
1900-1912 Christy Mathewson Rube Waddell
Decade First Base First Base
1870-1880 Wes Fisler Joe Start
1880-1890 Cap Anson Charlie Comiskey
1890-1900 Jake Beckley Dan Brouthers
1900-1912 Hal Chase Fred Tenney
Decade Second Base Second Base
1870-1880 Ross Barnes Al Reach (NA Only)
1880-1890 Fred Dunlap Bid McPhee
1890-1900 Nap Lajoie Fred Pfeffer
1900-1912 Eddie Collins Johnny Evers
Decade Third Base Third Base
1870-1880 Cap Anson Ezra Sutton
1880-1890 Jerry Denny Denny Lyons
1890-1900 John McGraw Billy Nash
1900-1912 Home Run Baker Jimmy Collins
Decade Shortstops Shortstops
1870-1880 Davy Force George Wright
1880-1890 Monte Ward Ned Williamson
1890-1900 Hughie Jennings Herman Long
1900-1912 Honus Wagner Bobby Wallace
Decade Left Fielders Left Fielders
1870-1880 Andy Leonard Lip Pike
1880-1890 Tip O'Neill George Wood
1890-1900 Ed Delahanty Joe Kelley
1900-1912 Fred Clarke Chick Stahl
Decade Center Fielders Center Fielders
1870-1880 Count Sensenderfer (NA Only) Harry Wright
1880-1890 Ned Hanlon Hardy Richardson
1890-1900 Billy Hamilton Bill Lange
1900-1912 Ty Cobb Tris Speaker
Decade Right Fielders Right Fielders
1870-1880 Jack Chapman Cal McVey
1880-1890 Joe Kelley Sam Thompson
1890-1900 Jesse Burkett Mike Tiernan
1900-1912 Sam Crawford Willie Keeler

You can follow the team links in the chart above to locate common statistics (singles), advanced statistics (WHIP Ratio & Isolated Power), and unique statistics (plate appearances & times on bases) not found on any other website.

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