Tom Cheney
From BR Bullpen
Thomas Edgar Cheney
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
- Debut April 21, 1957
- Final Game May 9, 1966
- Born October 14, 1934 in Morgan, GA USA
- Died November 1, 2001 in Rome, GA USA
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[edit] Biographical Information
Tom Cheney is remembered primarily for his performance in a single game: on September 12, 1962, he struck out 21 batters, a record that has stood since. He accomplished the feat in 16 innings while pitching for the Washington Senators. But he had 10 seasons of pitching to do before he arrived at this moment.
Cheney was signed as an amateur free agent by the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1952 season. The 17-year-old right-hander would be with the Albany Cardinals of the class D Georgia-Florida League where he appeared in one game, lost it, and watched the world go by for the rest of the year. He was with the same team in '53 and went 9-12 with a .429 ERA. He would earn his keep in the minors until he put two good years together with the Omaha Cardinals in 1956-57. He got to Sportsman's Park for one losing outing in '57 before the Military Services called him for a two-year stint in the United States Army. Tom arrived back about the same time he left, only two years later, and proceeded to lose his only trip to the mound in '59.
The Cardinals traded Cheney, along with Gino Cimoli on December 21, 1959 to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Ron Kline. He finished 2-2, including a shutout in 11 appearances for the World Champion Pirates. In the World Series against the Yankees he pitched a total of four innings and fanned six Bronx Bombers. Tom saw little action with the Pirates in 1961 and was traded on June 29, 1961 to the Washington Senators for Tom Sturdivant. Tom really was not all that helpful to the Washington team in 1961, going 1-3 in 10 appearances, but then the Senators were not all that helpful either, finishing last in the league with a 61-100 record.
1962 had arrived and the Senators would finish dead last again, at 60-101 this year. Cheney would finish the season at 7-9 with a 4.38 ERA but on September 12, Tom would etch his name deep in the records of baseball. Just before Cheney took the mound against the Orioles at Memorial Stadium on his big night, Senators pitching coach George Susce saw something he liked in the pitcher's warm-up throws. "Kid," he said as Cheney began to walk toward the field, "if you don't pitch a no-hitter tonight, it'll be your own fault."
Cheney didn't pitch a no-hitter. Instead he set a record that has never been matched, striking out 21 batters in a 16-inning game witnessed by 3,098 fans. He never got much publicity for his marathon effort, perhaps because it was an extra-inning affair. But consider this...42 pitchers have hurled at least 18 innings in a game and only eight have reached double figures in strikeouts. Tom had 13 strikeouts after nine innings. In the top of the 16th, Bud Zipfel homered to put Washington ahead 2-1. In the bottom of the inning, Cheney fanned Dick Williams to end the game. It was his 228th pitch and 21st strikeout.
Since being traded to Washington in 1961 Tom had won 15 games over the next two years with seven of those by shutout. Late in the '63 season, Tom was 8-9 with a 2.71 ERA and would incur a career ending arm injury and was sidelined, ironically in a game against the Orioles. Again the Senators would finish at the bottom of the ladder with a 56-106 record, 48.5 games back. Tom pitched in pain the following year, going 1-3. He entered the Mayo Clinic in search of help, but his tank was empty after appearing in three games in 1966 when he decided to leave baseball with a 19-29 and a 3.77 ERA as his major league record.
Cheney returned home to Georgia and managed the Cordelle Propane Gas Company in Albany. Tom would die on November 1, 2001 at age 67, in Rome, GA.
[edit] Notable Achievement
- Won a World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960
[edit] Records Held
- Strikeouts, game (extra innings), 21, September 12, 1962
[edit] Sources
Baseball Players of the 1950s
Minors Page
