Dupee Shaw

Frederick Lander "Dupee" Shaw (May 31, 1859 – January 12, 1938), also sometimes known as "Wizard," He held the major league record for the most strikeouts in a game by a losing pitcher (18), until Steve Carlton struck out 19 New York Mets in a losing effort on September 15. He also pitched a no-hitter on October 7, 1885, though the game has not qualified as an official no-hitter since 1991 because it lasted only five innings.

Early years Shaw was born in 1859 in the Charlestown section of Boston. Before playing professional baseball, he played first base for an amateur baseball team in Charlestown. His teammates on the Charlestown team included Thomas Shea, who later became a famous ragtime composer, John Clarkson, who was later inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and catcher Mert Hackett.

Professional career Wind-up Shaw claimed to have been "the first pitcher to wind up preparatory to delivering the ball."

After his first game for the Providence Grays, the Sporting Life wrote: "Shaw made a successful debut and promises to be a valuable man. He has a series of introductory motions in order to get an impulse to the ball, which mystifies the batsman and conceals its pace, and will probably be a terror to left-hand hitters." Alfred Spink wrote that Shaw's swinging delivery caused "a genuine sensation," prompting baseball writers to call him "a monkey, a mountebank and other harsh names," but "Shaw paid no attention to the knocks and went right on fooling the batsmen." One account suggests that it was the eccentric behavior of Dupee that created the long-running baseball stereotype that left-handed pitchers were "the 'nuts' of the game."

Shaw remained with the Detroit club at the start of the 1884 season. He appeared in 28 games, 25 of them complete games, and compiled a 9–18 record with a 2.30 ERA.

Shaw claimed that his real reason for jumping leagues was the bad treatment he received from Detroit's player/manager Jack Chapman. In Shaw's final game for Detroit, the Wolverines led by one run in the ninth inning, but two errors (one by Ned Hanlon in center field) allowed two runs to score. In the clubhouse after the loss, Chapman went on at length blaming Shaw without saying a word to the players whose errors contributed to the loss. Shaw recalled: "Finally I said, 'All right. I lost the ball game, but this is the last ball game I'll ever lose for Detroit.' And it was. I packed my belongings and that night I started for Boston. I applied for a job and got it."

Boston After making the jump to the Union Association, Shaw appeared in an additional 39 games for Boston, including 35 complete games, and compiled a 21–15 record.

Shaw also set a major league record for the most strikeouts in a game as a losing pitcher that stood for 85 years. On July 19, 1884, he threw a one-hitter against the St. Louis Maroons and struck out 18 batters, but lost the game, 1–0. Shaw's 1884 average of 8.81 strikeouts per nine innings also broke the existing major league record.

Providence In 1885, after the collapse of the Union Association, Shaw paid a $1,000 fine and was allowed to return to the National League as a member of the Providence Grays.

Washington In 1886, and for the second straight year, Shaw was faced with the dilemma of having played for a team, this time Providence, that folded after the season had ended. The National League assumed control of the Providence players and assigned most of them, including Shaw, to the newly formed team in Washington, D.C. Shaw was unhappy with his assignment to Washington and insisted on being paid more than the league's maximum salary if he was to play there. In September 1887, the Boston Courier concluded that Shaw's career was at end, writing:Dupee Shaw has been the enigma of the Washington team. They have laid him off, suspended and fined him. They said he was indifferent and crooked. He is a queer fellow. His day is gone by, and that is about all there is to it.

In 1888, Shaw appeared in only three games for Washington, all complete games, and compiled an 0–3 record with a 6.48 ERA. His final major league appearance was against the Indianapolis Hoosiers on July 17, 1888.

Comeback attempts

Shaw was 29 when he pitched his final major league game. He made several attempts at a comeback, but arm problems appear to have prevented his return to the major leagues. In 1889, he signed with, and played for, the Newark Little Giants of the Atlantic Association. Finally, in March 1892, Shaw, at age 32, announced that he had "most of the 'crystal' out of his arm and will be in condition soon to accept advance money."

There is no indication that any major league responded to Shaw's 1892 claim of readiness. However, Shaw did return briefly to the minor leagues in 1894 with a team from Haverhill, Massachusetts, in the New England League, and then in 1896 with the Lancaster Maroons of the Class A Atlantic League. Shaw appeared in two games for Lancaster, compiling an 0–2 record with a 4.50 ERA and nine runs (only five earned) in ten innings pitched.

Later years After retiring from baseball, Dupee settled in the Boston area and was a successful businessman. He also continued to follow baseball and to participate in "old timers" games in Boston. He died at age 78 in Wakefield, Massachusetts, and was interred at Glenwood Cemetery in Everett, Massachusetts.