Erskine Mayer

Pitcher

Born: January 16, 1889
Atlanta

Died: March 10, 1957 (aged 68)
Los Angeles

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

MLB debut

September 4, 1912, for the Philadelphia Phillies

Last MLB appearance

September 27, 1919, for the Chicago White Sox

MLB statistics

Win–loss record

91–70

Earned run average

2.96

Strikeouts

482

Teams

Career highlights and awards

Won 20 games twice (1914, 1915)

Jacob Erskine Mayer (born James Erskine Mayer, January 16, 1889 – March 10, 1957) was an American baseball player who played for three different Major League Baseball teams during the 1910s. In his eight-year career, Mayer played for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Chicago White Sox.

A right-handed pitcher, Mayer's repertoire of pitches included a curveball which he threw from a sidearm angle. As a result of his curveball, then Brooklyn Dodgers manager Wilbert Robinson called Mayer "Eelskine" because the pitch was "so slippery."

Mayer won 20 games in a single season in both 1914 and 1915. He appeared in the 1915 World Series as a member of the Phillies and in the 1919 World Series as a member of the White Sox, a series noted for the Black Sox Scandal.

He was 91–70 in his career, with a 2.96 ERA. He was one of the all-time best Jewish pitchers in major league history through 2010, 3rd career-wise in ERA (behind only Barney Pelty and Sandy Koufax), 7th in wins, and 10th in strikeouts (482).

Born in Atlanta, Mayer attended the Georgia Military Academy. Mayer then enrolled at the Georgia Institute of Technology in order to study engineering. During his years at Georgia Tech, Mayer pitched on the Yellow Jackets baseball team. In 1910, after three years of school, Mayer left Georgia Tech to pursue a career in professional baseball. He was not the only one in his family to pursue a career in baseball. Sam Mayer, Erskine Mayer's older brother, appeared in 11 games for the 1915 Washington Senators.

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