Fergie Jenkins
From BR Bullpen
Ferguson Arthur Jenkins
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 5", Weight 210 lb.
- Debut September 10, 1965
- Final Game September 26, 1983
- Born December 13, 1942 in Chatham, ON CAN
Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1991
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[edit] Biographical Information
Pitcher Fergie Jenkins of the Chicago Cubs won 20 games six consecutive seasons, from 1967 to 1972. He was noted for giving up the gopher ball but he gave up so few hits and almost no walks, that the HRs didn't hurt him very much. He was also a good hitter, slugging 6 HRs in 1971 to go with 3 in 1970.
Jenkins was involved in two trades that turned outr very well for the Cubs. He was acquired in April 1966 (along with outfielder Adolfo Phillips) from the Philadelphia Phillies for pitchers Larry Jackson and Bob Buhl. Then, after the 1973 season, Jenkins was dealt to the Texas Rangers for infielders Bill Madlock and Vic Harris. Madlock went on to be a multiple-time batting champion. Jenkins did continue to pitch well for a number of years however, even if he only won 20 games one more time. He eventually returned to the Cubs to finish his career in 1983 and 1984.
Jenkins became the first player in baseball history to be permanently suspended from baseball for a drug-related offense. He was arrested in Toronto on August 25, 1980 for possession of cocaine. Fourteen days after the arrest, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn banned him. In an unprecedented decision, he was reinstated by an independent arbitrator on September 22, 1980.
In 1987, Jenkins was elected into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. He had been the first baseball player to be named the "Canadian Athlete of the Year", after he won the Cy Young Award in 1971. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on January 8, 1991 by the Baseball Writers Association of America. He was the first Canadian-born player elected to the Hall of Fame.
In 1989, he played for the Winter Haven Super Sox of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. He won 7 games and had a 5.55 ERA for the club. In 1990, he played for the Sun City Rays of the same league. He had pitched in 3 games when the league folded.
In 2003, Fergie Jenkins served as the Commissioner of the short-lived Canadian Baseball League; the league's championship, the Jenkins Cup, was named for him. However, the league folded halfway through its first season.
Quote: "Fergie is still the best pitcher in baseball. They can talk about Tom Seaver all they want, but I'll take Fergie." former teammate Ken Holtzman, 1974.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 3-time NL All-Star (1967, 1971 & 1972)
- NL Cy Young Award Winner (1971)
- 1974 AL Comeback Player of the Year Award
- 2-time League Wins Leader (1971/NL & 1974/AL)
- NL Innings Pitched Leader (1971)
- NL Strikeouts Leader (1969)
- 4-time League Complete Games Leader (1967/NL, 1970/NL, 1971/NL & 1974/AL)
- 15 Wins Seasons: 10 (1967-1972, 1974, 1975, 1978 & 1979)
- 20 Wins Seasons: 7 (1967-1972 & 1974)
- 25 Wins Seasons: 1 (1974)
- 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 13 (1967-1976, 1978, 1979 & 1982)
- 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 5 (1968-1971 & 1974)
- 200 Strikeouts Seasons: 6 (1967-1971 & 1974)
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1991
| NL Cy Young Award | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1971 | 1972 |
| Bob Gibson | Fergie Jenkins | Steve Carlton |
[edit] Further Reading
- Fergie Jenkins and Lew Freedman: Fergie: My Life from the Cubs to Cooperstown, Triumph Books, Chicago, IL, 2009.
- Turcotte, Dorothy: "The Game is Easy, Life is Hard - The Story of Ferguson Jenkins Jr.", The Fergie Jenkins Foundation, Grimsby, Ontario 2002.
