Russ Ford

Russell William Ford

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut April 28, 1909
• Final Game August 16, 1915
• Born April 25, 1883 in Brandon, MB CAN
• Died January 24, 1960 in Rockingham, NC USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Ford, about 1912

Russ Ford dominated the American League and the Federal League for a few seasons thanks to his devastating emery ball. The emery ball was a nominally illegal pitch that involved doctoring the baseball by scuffing it with emery paper. Ford disguised his illegal modification by claiming to throw a spitball, though he came clean about his technique after retiring. Other pitchers apparently figured out that he was getting away with scuffing and copied both his approach and the dodge of claiming that their pitches were spitballs. He is the brother of Gene Ford.

Ford's 1910 rookie season is one of the best of the modern era, with his 11.4 WAR, 0.881 WHIP and 8 shutouts still the best for qualified rookie pitchers, and his 26 wins, 1.87 FIP and 5.82 Hits per 9 IP ranked second among rookie pitchers (and first among AL rookies). Even Ford's 209 strikeouts are still the 10th highest total by a rookie pitcher. Finally, Ford's 11.7 Total WAR (pitching WAR + batting WAR) is the best for any rookie at any position. Helping his WAR total was Ford's performance against the World Series champion Philadelphia Athletics; Russ faced the A's eight times (two more than any other opponent) and came away with a 5-3 record, with complete games in all of the wins, including a shutout in the first week of the season. Those five wins are tied for the most by a rookie pitcher against the season's World Series champion. Facing the St. Louis Browns on July 19th, Ford took a no-hitter into the 9th inning before surrendering a lone single on a flare hit that probably should have been caught but found the turf just behind shortstop.

Russ's ERA jumped by more than half a run in 1911, though that was mostly due to an significant league-wide offensive uptick that season as his ERA+ barely moved, from 160 to 158. But, a further ERA jump in 1912 by more than a run signified a loss of effectiveness as his ERA+ tumbled to just 103. Ford's ERA and ERA+ were better in 1913, though his strikeouts tumbled to just 72, barely a third of his rookie season total. When the New York Yankees offered him a pay cut for the next season, Ford jumped to the Federal League in 1914, a move also hastened by the banning that season by the American League of his trademark emery ball pitch. Ford enjoyed a fine first season in the new circuit but when it too banned the emery ball for the 1915 season, Russ struggled mightily that year, the last of his major league career.

Russ is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Notable Achievements

• FL Winning Percentage Leader (1914)
• FL Saves Leader (1914)
• 15 Wins Seasons: 3 (1910, 1911 & 1914)
• 20 Wins Seasons: 3 (1910, 1911 & 1914)
• 25 Wins Seasons: 1 (1910)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 5 (1910-1914)
• 200 Strikeouts Seasons: 1 (1910)

Further Reading

• Gary Belleville: "July 19, 1910: Russ Ford loses no-hitter in ninth on misjudged fly ball," SABR Baseball Games Project.

Related Sites

• Russ Ford at the SABR Bio Project
• Russ Ford Mop-Up Duty