Alexander, Grover Cleveland (1887-1950), was one of the best pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB). Often called “Old Pete,” Alexander won 373 games—a National League (NL) record—over 20 MLB seasons from 1911 through 1930. He split his career between the Philadelphia Phillies , Chicago Cubs , and St. Louis Cardinals . A wily right-handed pitcher, Alexander frustrated the best hitters of his era with a mix of pitches and pinpoint control. He averaged 27 wins his first 7 seasons, and in 1916, he tied an MLB record with 16 shutouts. Alexander finished his career with the second most shutouts (90) in MLB history. He had an excellent career 2.56 earned run average (ERA) and pitched 5,190 innings while giving up 4,868 hits and losing 208 games. Alexander was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938.
Alexander was born on Feb. 26, 1887, in Elba, Nebraska , and grew up on a farm. He was named for United States President Grover Cleveland , who was in office at the time of Alexander’s birth. Alexander earned a Minor League Baseball contract in 1909 that led him to the big leagues with the Phillies in 1911. That year, he set a rookie record with 28 wins. Alexander, who soon became known as “Old Pete,” won 30 or more games three straight seasons from 1915 through 1917. After the 1917 season, he was traded to the Cubs, but he made only three starts in 1918 before being drafted into the U.S. Army to fight in World War I (1914-1918). While serving on the Western Front in France , Alexander was exposed to poisonous gas and injured by shellfire. He returned home with epileptic seizures, deafness in one ear, shell shock (now called post-traumatic stress disorder ), a damaged pitching arm, and an addiction to alcohol.
Despite his physical and psychological problems, Alexander managed to return to baseball and pitch for the Cubs. He was not the same pitcher of his earlier career, but he still averaged 17.5 wins from 1919 through 1925. During the 1926 season, the Cubs released Alexander, who was then signed by the Cardinals. He pitched well for St. Louis, notching two wins and a save in the Cardinals’ World Series victory over the New York Yankees that October. In 1927, at age 40, Alexander went 21-10 with a 2.52 ERA. Old Pete lasted two more years in St. Louis before returning to the Phillies for a brief stint and retiring during the 1930 season. Alexander left the game believing that his 373 wins—one more than Christy Mathewson , who had retired in 1916—were the most in NL history. Research in the 1940’s credited Mathewson with one more win, however, and Alexander had to settle for a tie. He died on Nov. 4, 1950.
