Sunday, February 28, 2016

MAJOR LEAGUE FOUNDERS: TOMMY BOND 1876-1976

The next player in my celebration of Major League baseball’s 100th anniversary in 1976 is former pitcher Tommy Bond.
Check out the card first:


Bond, who was the last surviving player from the inaugural 1876 season, put together an excellent career, going 234-163 between 1874 and 1884 (the first two seasons playing in the National Association), with a 2.14 earned run average and 42 shutouts over 417 appearances.
He was the first pitcher in league history to win the pitching triple crown, leading the N.L. in  wins, strikeouts and ERA in 1877 when he posted a 40-17 record with a 2.11 ERA and 170 K’s.
He twice led the league in wins, in ERA and in strikeouts along with shutouts three times, innings pitched once and complete games once.