Dave Ferriss

David Meadow Ferriss (December 5, 1921 – November 24, 2016) was an American Major League Baseball player who pitched for the Boston Red Sox from 1945 through 1950. Ferriss was given the nickname 'Boo' as the result of a childhood inability to pronounce the word 'brother'.

After Ferriss's MLB playing career was over, he returned to the Mississippi Delta for two stints as the head baseball coach at Delta State University where he retired as the school's all-time leader in wins with 639. In November 2002, he was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.

Playing career

College and minor league baseball Ferriss received the first full baseball scholarship to Mississippi State University, where he pitched in 1941 and 1942 and joined the Kappa Sigma fraternity. He was signed by the Red Sox in 1942, and he appeared in 21 games for the Greensboro Red Sox of the Class B Piedmont League, compiling a 7–7 record. Shortly afterward, he was drafted into the Army for service in World War II, serving for over two years at Randolph Field in Texas, where he was able to continue playing baseball in a military league. He went on to set a longstanding American League (AL) record for scoreless innings pitched at the start of a career with 22, which stood until 2008, when it was broken by Brad Ziegler. Ferriss compiled a 21–10 win–loss record for the Red Sox in his rookie season.

Ferriss then compiled a 25–6 record (the best in the AL) that helped the Red Sox win the AL pennant in 1946. He was selected for the All-Star Game that season for the first and only time but did not pitch, as the 1945 All-Star Game was not held due to wartime travel restrictions. He started two games in the 1946 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, and pitched a complete-game shutout in the third game before getting a no-decision in the seventh and deciding game, which was won by the Cardinals.

Ferriss' record in 1947 was 12–11. His arm troubles and asthma restricted him to only nine starts and 31 appearances in 1948, and four appearances in 1949. His final major league appearance was on Opening Day of the 1950 season, when he pitched only one inning. Ferriss compiled a career record of 65–30, and shares the MLB record for consecutive home wins to start a season (13, in 1946). He was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002.

Ferriss was a very good hitting pitcher in his six-year major league career, posting a .250 batting average (93-for-372) with one home run, 52 RBIs, and 44 runs scored. He had 19 RBIs in each of the 1945 and 1947 seasons. He finished his career with a .979 fielding percentage.

Coaching career Ferriss served as pitching coach for the Red Sox under manager Pinky Higgins from 1955 to 1959 before moving on to Delta State University as head coach in 1960. He held that role until early 1967, when he left Delta State to take the role of assistant athletic director at Mississippi State University.

Namings The baseball field at Delta State University is named Ferriss Field in his honor. The "Boo" Ferriss Baseball Museum – located at the Robert L. Crawford Center at Delta State University – was named after him.

Ferriss Trophy In the fall of 2003, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame announced its sponsorship of an annual Mississippi Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year award, and that the trophy would bear Ferriss' name and likeness. The award is officially called the C Spire Ferriss Trophy, including the name of corporate cosponsor C Spire Wireless.

Personal life Ferriss lived with his wife, Miriam Izard Ferriss, in Cleveland, Mississippi. They had two children, Dr. David Ferriss and Margaret Ferriss White, and two grandchildren.