Bert Cole

Albert George Cole (July 1, 1896 – May 30, 1975) was an American baseball pitcher.

A native of San Francisco, he played professional baseball for 17 years from 1919 to 1935, including six seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers from 1921 to 1925, Cleveland Indians in 1925, and Chicago White Sox in 1927. In six major league seasons, he appeared in 177 games and compiled a 28–32 record and 4.67 earned run average (ERA). In 1924, he hit Bob Meusel with a pitch, triggering a riot that led to the Tigers' forfeiture of the game.

Cole also played 12 seasons in the Pacific Coast League for the Seattle Rainiers and Sacramento Senators (1919), San Francisco Seals (1920), Mission Reds (1926), Portland Beavers and Seattle Indians (1928), Mission Reds (1929–1933), and San Francisco Seals (1935). In 11 minor league seasons, he appeared in 346 games and compiled a 151–121 record and a 4.16 ERA.

Early years Cole was born in San Francisco in 1896. He spent most of 1920 with the Tacoma Tigers, and had a 24–7 win–loss record with them. He was then promoted to the San Francisco Seals and had a 5–1 record and a 1.86 earned run average (ERA) in 16 games during the 1920 season. Ty Cobb watched Cole pitch a game in October 1920 and praised Cole's "size and action," noting that he liked the way Cole mixed his pitches, "slowing up his delivery at times just enough to get the hitters off their stride, and breaking a curve ball over just when they were set for the fast one."

Detroit Tigers In November 1920, the Seals traded Cole to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for first baseman Babe Ellison. Cole spent five years with the Tigers as both a starting pitcher and relief pitcher. He made his major league debut on April 19, 1921, and appeared in 20 games for the 1920 Tigers, including 11 games as a starter. He compiled a 7–4 record with a 4.27 ERA in his rookie season.

On Friday, June 13, 1924, during a game against the New York Yankees at Navin Field, Cole was a principal participant in an incident that resulted in a riot that led to Detroit's forfeiture of the game. The hostility began when Babe Ruth "stiff armed" Cole on a play at first base in the top of the seventh inning. In the top of the ninth inning, Cole "dusted" off Ruth and then struck Bob Meusel in the back with a pitched ball. The fans overpowered the police, and rioting and fist fights followed. When the police were unable to clear the field, umpire Billy Evans declared the game forfeited to the Yankees. A writer in the Detroit Free Press noted: "No such disorder as that which prevented the completion of the game has been recorded in the history of modern baseball." After further review, Johnson shortened the suspensions to ten days and fined Ruth for what Johnson called his "frenzied effort to participate in the trouble."

Cleveland and Chicago On July 3, 1925, the Tigers released Cole on waiver, and he was claimed by the Cleveland Indians. He appeared in 13 games for Indians and compiled a 1–1 record with a 6.14 ERA. He appeared in 27 games for the White Sox during the 1927 season and had a 1–4 record and a 4.73 ERA. Cole was dissatisfied playing in Portland and asked to be traded to one of the San Francisco teams. Instead, on June 20, 1928, the Portland club traded Cole with an outfielder to be named later to the Seattle Indians in exchange for pitcher Jack Knight.

In January 1929, fulfilling his desire to play for a San Francisco team, Cole signed a contract with the Mission Reds. He appeared in 42 games for the Reds in 1929 and compiled a 24–12 record with a 3.45 ERA.