A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This change adds a deflecting force to the baseball, making it difficult for batters to hit but also difficult for pitchers to control and catchers to catch; umpires are challenged as well, as the ball's irregular motion through the air makes it harder to call balls and strikes. A pitcher who throws knuckleballs is known as a knuckleballer.
Philip Henry Niekro, nicknamed "Knucksie", was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. Niekro is generally regarded as the greatest knuckleball pitcher of all time.
Joseph Franklin Niekro was an American professional baseball pitcher. During a 22-year baseball career, he pitched from 1967 to 1988 for seven different teams, primarily for the Houston Astros.
Timothy Stephen Wakefield was an American professional baseball knuckleball pitcher. Wakefield began his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but is most remembered for his 17-year tenure with the Boston Red Sox, from 1995 until his retirement in 2012 as the longest-serving player on the team, earning a total of $55 million. When he retired at age 45 after 19 seasons in MLB, Wakefield was the oldest active player in the major leagues.
Harry David Brecheen, nicknamed "the Cat", was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the St. Louis Cardinals. In the late 1940s, he was among the team's stars, in 1946 becoming the first left-hander ever to win three games in a single World Series, and the only pitcher ever to win consecutive World Series games. He later led the National League in several categories in 1948.
John Arnold Niggeling was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 184 games in Major League Baseball over all or parts of nine seasons (1938–1946) with the Boston Bees / Braves, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators. He was a right-handed knuckleball specialist who was listed as 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 170 pounds (77 kg).
George Willis Hudlin was a Major League Baseball pitcher for, most notably, the Cleveland Indians from 1926 to 1940. Hudlin did not pitch more than 10 games with any other team, although he played with three others.
Robert Thomas Purkey was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball known for his use of the knuckleball. From 1954 through 1966, Purkey played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds / Redlegs, and St. Louis Cardinals. In 1974 he was elected to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.
John Elmer Stivetts was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning from 1889 to 1899. He played in the American Association (AA) with the St. Louis Browns, and in the National League (NL) with the Boston Beaneaters and Cleveland Spiders. "Happy Jack" was born to German immigrants and raised in Ashland, Pennsylvania. He initially followed his father into the coal mining industry before playing professional baseball. After playing two and half seasons in minor league baseball, he was signed by the Browns. Over the next few seasons, he was regarded as one of the best pitchers in baseball.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1886 throughout the world.
Ivy Paul "Poison" Andrews was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns and the Cleveland Indians between 1931 and 1938. Andrews batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Dora, Alabama.
Nelson Thomas Potter was an American professional baseball player and right-handed pitcher who appeared in 349 games in Major League Baseball over a dozen seasons between 1936 and 1949, most notably as a member, in 1944, of the only St. Louis Browns team to win an American League pennant. He also played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox and Boston Braves. Potter's repertoire featured the screwball.
Hugh Daily, nicknamed "One Arm" Daily, was an Irish born professional right-handed pitcher who played six seasons, for seven different teams; the Buffalo Bisons, the Cleveland Blues, and the St. Louis Maroons of the National League, Chicago Browns and Washington Nationals of the Union Association, and the Cleveland Blues of the American Association. He was known for having a surly disposition and was not well liked by baseball executives, which occasioned his frequent change of teams. However, he was a favourite of fans wherever he played.
Rex Ralston Cecil was an American professional baseball player. The right-handed pitcher, a native of Lindsay, Oklahoma, had a 14-year pro career, including 18 games pitched, 16 as a starter, in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox (1944–1945). Cecil batted left-handed, stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg).
John J. Healy, nicknamed "Egyptian" and "Long John", was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. Healy played for the St. Louis Maroons, Indianapolis Hoosiers, Washington Nationals, Chicago White Stockings, Toledo Maumees, Baltimore Orioles, and Louisville Colonels from 1885 to 1892. He was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 158 pounds (72 kg).
The 1945 Washington Senators won 87 games, lost 67, and finished in second place in the American League. They were managed by Ossie Bluege and played their home games at Griffith Stadium, where they drew 652,660 fans, fourth-most in the eight-team league. The 1945 Senators represented the 45th edition of the Major League Baseball franchise and were the last of the 20th-century Senators to place higher than fourth in the American League; the team moved to Minneapolis–Saint Paul in 1961 to become the modern Minnesota Twins.
John Nelson Kerins was an American Major League Baseball player who appeared mainly at first base but also at catcher and in the outfield. He played for the Indianapolis Hoosiers (1884), Louisville Colonels (1885-1889), Baltimore Orioles (1889) and St. Louis Browns (1890). He was a player-manager for Louisville in 1888 and for St. Louis in 1890, and he umpired American Association games through 1891.
Bennett Flowers was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for four teams between 1951 and 1956. During his playing days, Flowers stood 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall, weighed 195 pounds (88 kg) and batted and threw right-handed. He was a native of Goldsboro, North Carolina.
John Connor was an American Major League Baseball player who pitched a total of 12 games over the course of his two-season career. He had a win–loss record of 2–8 and a 3.81 earned run average in 104 innings pitched. He began his career with the Boston Beaneaters for the 1884 season, later playing for both the Buffalo Bisons and the Louisville Colonels during the 1885 season. On August 29, 1885, Connor was traded by Louisville to the Chattanooga, Tennessee team of the Southern League for Toad Ramsey. Connor died at the age of 44 in his hometown of Nashua, New Hampshire, and is interred at St. Patrick Cemetery in Hudson, New Hampshire.
