Bob Ewing

Outfielder/Pitcher

Born: April 24, 1873
New Hampshire, Ohio

Died: June 20, 1947 (aged 74)
Wapakoneta, Ohio

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

MLB debut

April 19, 1902, for the Cincinnati Reds

Last MLB appearance

May 13, 1912, for the St. Louis Cardinals

MLB statistics

Win–loss record

124–118

Earned run average

2.49

Strikeouts

998

Teams

Career highlights and awards

Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Member (inducted on August 12, 2001)

George Lemuel Ewing (April 24, 1873 – June 20, 1947), was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in the majors from 1902 to 1912 for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals.

Ewing was born on April 24, 1873, in New Hampshire, Ohio. He grew up on a farm in Auglaize County where as a young boy, he pitched potatoes against a target on a barn. The nickname Long Bob came about due to him being 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m). Later he would be given the moniker of 'Old Wapak', in reference to the town he called home.

Bob started his baseball career at a relatively late age, 24, before signing his first contract. Long Bob played his first game away from New Hampshire in 1895 at the Wapakoneta fairgrounds. He then played for Wapakoneta from 1896 to 1897.

Ewing's first semi-pro experience was in August 1897, when he joined the Toledo Mud Hens team in the Interstate League. His professional debut with a 9–4 victory over Springfield, Ohio. He was consistently the best pitcher in the league, going 21–9 and 25–13 in consecutive seasons. Over the next three seasons, Ewing pitched nearly 900 innings and won more than 20 games annually for Toledo.

In 1901, he next went out to Kansas City in the Western League where he went 21–5 and led the Western League in winning percentage. With Ewing, the Blues won the pennant by 10 games. Ewing later recalled that Kansas City was "...the only pennant winning team I ever played on."

While at home from Kansas City, Bob played ball with a local club in Sidney, Ohio. On October 10, 1901, the Cincinnati Reds arrived in Sidney after going through local Ohio teams looking to find some competition with the Sidney semi-pro team. As the Reds warmed up, they could not have anticipated what they were about to see. The visitors were up to bat first. On the mound stood all six feet six inches of Long Bob Ewing. Ewing dueled Schwab, his Reds counterpart, to a 3–3 tie when the game was called because of darkness after eight innings. Ewing struck out many more batters than Schwab. Within two weeks he was under contract to the Cincinnati Reds.

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Wikipedia