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Game Ball Used in Cy Young’s 511th and Final Record Setting Win
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Description
“Pitchers, like poets, are born not made.” - Cy Young
Cy Young had his nickname given to him in wonderment by a young catcher who warmed him up when he tried out for the Canton, Ohio minor league team. He was judged to be "as fast as a cyclone." Reporters shortened it to "Cy" and Denton True Young had a lifelong nickname. Among Young's 511 major league victories were three no-hitters. One of them, on May 5, 1904 against the Athletics, was a perfect game in which he out dueled Rube Waddell. Young was so intent on defeating the great lefthander that he didn't realize he had pitched a perfect game until he was congratulated for doing so. Most noteworthy about Cy Young is the durability that permitted him to amass 511 victories. It also produced 316 losses, another all-time record. He credited his off-season farm work, chopping wood and doing heavy chores, with keeping him in shape to play until he was 44 years old. The last of his record 511 victories came on September 22, 1911. Then, portly, but without a twinge of pain in his arm, Young took the mound for the fledgling Boston Braves to face Pittsburgh and Babe Adams at Forbes Field. Fittingly, Young threw a 1–0 shutout for his final career victory, number 511. The Pirates would lose just three of 22 games to Boston in 1911. Young’s battery mate that historic day was catcher Bill Rariden. The offered ball, used in Cy Young’s last victory, was saved and inscribed by the journeyman backstop. It is well worn, yet parts of Rariden’s inscription are clearly legible including, “At Pitt. Sept. 22 – 1911 Boston 1 Cy Young & Wm. Rariden, Pitt. 0 Adams & Simon.” Another panel bears further inscription that is not legible to the naked eye. There could not be an object more representative of what is arguably baseball’s greatest pitching record – 511 career wins, or of the greatness of its achiever.
Today, it is fitting that baseball honors its most prolific winner, by giving his name to the annual Cy Young Awards. His name invokes the tradition and sense of history some of the modern recipients of the award seem to lack. When Denny McLain became the latest pitcher to win 30 games, in 1968, he had to ask about the man for whom his Cy Young Award was named. He was told, "you've done it once; Cy Young topped 30 victories five times." LOA's: PSA/DNA and Rariden Family.
Cy Young had his nickname given to him in wonderment by a young catcher who warmed him up when he tried out for the Canton, Ohio minor league team. He was judged to be "as fast as a cyclone." Reporters shortened it to "Cy" and Denton True Young had a lifelong nickname. Among Young's 511 major league victories were three no-hitters. One of them, on May 5, 1904 against the Athletics, was a perfect game in which he out dueled Rube Waddell. Young was so intent on defeating the great lefthander that he didn't realize he had pitched a perfect game until he was congratulated for doing so. Most noteworthy about Cy Young is the durability that permitted him to amass 511 victories. It also produced 316 losses, another all-time record. He credited his off-season farm work, chopping wood and doing heavy chores, with keeping him in shape to play until he was 44 years old. The last of his record 511 victories came on September 22, 1911. Then, portly, but without a twinge of pain in his arm, Young took the mound for the fledgling Boston Braves to face Pittsburgh and Babe Adams at Forbes Field. Fittingly, Young threw a 1–0 shutout for his final career victory, number 511. The Pirates would lose just three of 22 games to Boston in 1911. Young’s battery mate that historic day was catcher Bill Rariden. The offered ball, used in Cy Young’s last victory, was saved and inscribed by the journeyman backstop. It is well worn, yet parts of Rariden’s inscription are clearly legible including, “At Pitt. Sept. 22 – 1911 Boston 1 Cy Young & Wm. Rariden, Pitt. 0 Adams & Simon.” Another panel bears further inscription that is not legible to the naked eye. There could not be an object more representative of what is arguably baseball’s greatest pitching record – 511 career wins, or of the greatness of its achiever.
Today, it is fitting that baseball honors its most prolific winner, by giving his name to the annual Cy Young Awards. His name invokes the tradition and sense of history some of the modern recipients of the award seem to lack. When Denny McLain became the latest pitcher to win 30 games, in 1968, he had to ask about the man for whom his Cy Young Award was named. He was told, "you've done it once; Cy Young topped 30 victories five times." LOA's: PSA/DNA and Rariden Family.