George Derby

George Henry Derby (July 15, 1857 – July 15, 1925), nicknamed "Jonah", was an American professional baseball player from 1877 to 1883. He played three seasons in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Detroit Wolverines in 1881 and 1882 and for the Buffalo Bisons in 1883.

Derby won 29 games and led the National League in both strikeouts and shutouts as a 24-year-old rookie in 1881. However, after pitching 55 complete games and almost 500 innings in 1881, Derby developed shoulder problems that reduced the velocity of his pitches. His career was cut short, and he played in his final major league game in July 1883 at age 25.

Early years Derby was born in Webster, Massachusetts, in 1857. He began his professional baseball career at age 19 in 1877 with the Hornellsville, New York, team in the League Alliance. He next played for the Syracuse Stars of the International Association in 1878 and the Washington team of the National Association in 1879 and 1880. In 1880, he compiled a 10–7 record and an 0.57 earned run average (ERA) in 158 innings for Washington.

Major League Baseball

Detroit Wolverines

1881 season Derby signed with the newly formed Detroit Wolverines for the 1881 season. He was described as "a compactly built, blonde haired, blue-eyed, pleasant-voiced gentleman who was to do all the pitching, and right well did he do his work." During his rookie season, Derby led the National League in both strikeouts (212) and shutouts (9). He also established a franchise record for the Detroit Wolverines that was never broken with innings pitched in 1881; Derby started 55 games for Detroit, all complete games, and also had one relief appearance.

It was revealed the next year that Derby had begun experiencing shoulder problems late in the 1881 season. Derby complained that he had been unable to "give force to the ball" and therefore pitched fewer games in August and September 1881. Derby's performance in 1883 at Buffalo continued the slide. He started only 13 games for Buffalo and compiled a 2–10 record with a 5.85 ERA. He appeared in his final major league game on July 3, 1883, at age 25.

Career statistics Over his three major league seasons, Derby compiled a 48–56 record in 110 appearances, with a 3.01 ERA and 428 strikeouts.

Later years Derby died in Philadelphia at the age of 67. He was buried at Wellsboro Cemetery in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania.