Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 77

Al Demaree was a right-handed pitcher with the Phillies from 1915-1916. His time with the Phillies was brief, but he helped snag the club's very first National League pennant. Demaree debuted as a rookie with the New York Giants in 1912 and played two more full seasons with the Giants, posting a 24-21 record in that time.

Following the 1914 season, Phils manager Pat Moran vowed to make changes and Demaree was among a group of three players that Philadelphia acquired for third baseman Hans Lobert.

Demaree made a fast impact in 1915 when he shut out his former team 3-0 in his Phillies debut. However, Demaree left people doubting the trade when he strung together 6 losses in his next 6 starts. The poor stretch resulted in Demaree being pulled from the starting rotation. By early July, he got another shot at starting and again shut down the Giants, this time 1-0. Demaree won 5 of his next 6 starts. In mid-August, he would throw his 3rd shutout of the season against Boston.

Demaree ended the 1915 regular season with a 14-11 record and a 3.05 ERA, but did not pitch in the World Series for the Phillies against the Red Sox.

1916 would be the best season of Demaree's career as he posted a 19-11 record and a 2.62 ERA in 39 games (35 starts). He continued to perform extremely well against his former team, as he won his first 2 starts of the season against the Giants and 6 of 8 starts overall against them that season.

On September 20, 1916, Demaree pitched both games of a double header against Pittsburgh, winning 7-0 and 3-2. The Phillies would finish in second place that year, 2 1/2 games behind the Dodgers.

In April 1917, Demaree was traded to the Cubs for pitcher Jimmy Lavendar and cash. It is possible the Phillies sensed that Demaree's best days on the mound were behind him as he posted just a 23-26 record in his remaining 3 years in the Major Leagues.

After his playing career was through, in 1919, Demaree worked as a sports cartoonist. His work was syndicated in more than 200 daily news papers as well as The Sporting News. He also illustrated for trading cards. He helped produce die cut cards that featured black & white player portraits on cartoon bodies that still remain some of the most rare and valuable cards from the 1930's.
___________________________________________________

For updates and unique stats, follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Comments

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Patreon Exclusive: Logan O'Hoppe answers Nine Silly-ass Questions

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Phillies catching prospect Logan O'Hoppe was the subject of a recent player feature I posted here three days early. When I talked with Logan, he was kind enough to not only chat about some serious baseball related topics, he also had some fun with me and answered Nine Silly-Ass Questions! In this interview, the 20-year-old, who was an All-Star with Class A short-season Williamsport last year, offered his thoughts on his experiences playing in Australia last off-season, super powers, some surprising movies he's never seen, teammate Albertus Barber and plenty more. Read ahead for some excerpts from this Silly-ass interview... -You can 4-for-4 and your team loses, or you can get hit in the groin and your team wins...which do you choose? I mean, if we win, then the whole team has a good night, so I have to go with that one. That really benefits everybody. -Tell me, if you can, four words to describe Albertus Barber . One,...

Calling All (Sal's) Pals...

Phillies phans should remember Sal Fasano fondly. In 2006, Fasano was the Phillies' back up catcher who hit .243 and slugged 4 homers in 50 games played. Sal's unique mustache and tough guy vibe won over the Philadelphia crowds and a fan group called Sal's Pals was born. Prior to playing with the Phillies, Fasano debuted with the Royals, and made stops in Oakland, Colorado, Anahiem and Baltimore. Fasano was a true journeyman who had no qualms about his reserve role where ever he went. Today, Twitter user and Phillies phan Sara Scott passed along an article that I feel deserves mention here. SI.com's Jeff Pearlman detailed the Fasano family's struggles with health coverage for their 2 year old child, Santo, who suffers from a serious heart condition. The article can be found here . Santo's condition, hypoplastic heart syndrome, requires medical attention to help his underdeveloped heart to mature properly. To this point, Santo's surgeries have cost over $1 mi...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog