Red Lucas
4January 7, 2013 by Elizabeth Metz
Right-handed pitcher, 1926-1933. Inducted 1965.
Began his Reds career in the bullpen but ultimately moved into the rotation and got a reputation as a workhorse. Led the league in complete games in three separate seasons, finished over 60% of his career starts, and once went 250 innings without being relieved, a modern day record. Also known for his pinch hitting prowess, he led the league in pinch hits four times. His on-base percentage was above .333 every year he played with the Reds.
Came across this little tidbit. Grantland Rice wrote a poem about him titled aptly “Red Lucas, Ball Player” which starts (and this is all I can find): “Just a ball player, that’s all-
He can field, he can pitch, he can hit …”
Yep, saw that! The full text (along with a nice tribute to Lucas) can be found here: http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120611&content_id=33131902&vkey=news_t556&fext=.jsp&sid=t556
beautiful illustration. I love baseball history. well done.
Thanks!