Charles Albert "Chief" Bender (May 5, 1884 – May 22, 1954) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball during the first two decades of the 20th century. In 1911, Bender tied a record by pitching three complete games in a single World Series. He finished his career with a win-loss record of 212-127, for a .625 winning percentage and a career 2.46 earned run average (ERA).

After his major league playing career, Bender filled multiple baseball roles, including service as a major league coach, minor league manager and player-manager, college manager and professional scout. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953 and he died not long before his induction ceremony the following year.

Bender was born in Crow Wing County, Minnesota as a member of the Ojibwe tribe. His father was German and his mother was part Chippewa. As a child, he received the Indian name "Mandowescence", meaning "Little Spirit Animal." His family had 160 acres on the White Earth Indian Reservation near Bemidji, Minnesota. His father taught him to farm on the reservation. He graduated from Carlisle Indian Industrial School and attended Dickinson College.

Bender debuted in the major leagues in 1903. He is one of only a few pitchers in the 20th century to throw 200 or more innings at the age of 19. His walks per nine innings rate was 2.17; only a few pitchers since 1893 have had a rate below 2.2 at the age of 20 or younger. That year he also won a game against Cy Young and even met his future wife Marie.

In 1905, Bender earned an 18-11 win-loss record with a 2.83 ERA, helping the A's win the AL pennant, but they lost the World Series in five games to the New York Giants. Bender went 1-1, 1.06 ERA in the series, pitching a 4-hit, 3-0 complete game shutout in game 2, striking out 9, and again went the distance in game 5, giving up just two earned runs in eight innings and losing 2-0 to Christy Mathewson.

...
Wikipedia