Charlie Pittinger

You’d be hard pressed to find two more disparate back-to-back seasons than the ones Charlie Pittinger put together in 1902 and 1903.

Pittinger, an imposing, fireballing right-hander, won 27 games in 1902 for the Boston Nationals, second only to Hall of Famer Jack Chesbro that season. He was also second in the league in complete games (36) and innings pitched (389⅓). His win total as of 2014 was still tied with that of teammate Vic Willis (who coincidentally also won 27 games that year for the third-place Bostons) for the Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves franchise record for most wins in a season. With the American League routinely raiding the NL for its best players, Pittinger parlayed his excellent season into an almost unheard-of two-year contract from Boston at the princely sum of $4,000 per season.

But instead of another dominating season, Pittinger had one of the worst seasons recorded by a pitcher. In 1903 he led the National League in five negative pitching categories: losses (22), earned runs allowed (136), hits allowed (396), home runs allowed (12), and walks allowed (143). He was still a workhorse, pitching 351⅔ innings. With his large salary, his season didn’t endear him to Boston management.1

Pittinger never did have another season like 1902 but he did go on to some success, winning 23 games with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1905. However his career and his life, which was filled with tragedy, both ended prematurely. The effects of diabetes forced him to retire in 1907 and ended his life in 1909 at the age of 37. He endured the death of both a daughter and his wife during his short lifetime. And the press was merciless with him about his looks during his career, calling him among other names, Horse Face or Dog Face.2

Charles Reno Pittinger, the fifth of eight boys, was born to John and Joanna (Gordon) Pittenger on January 12, 1872, in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, a town in central Pennsylvania near the Maryland border. John was a lightning-rod salesman. In several censuses, the family name appears to have been spelled Pittenger. It wasn’t until Charlie started playing professional baseball that his last name appeared (sometimes) as Pittinger.

Pittinger was a late bloomer as far as baseball goes. He played semipro ball until 1895, when at the age of 23 he burst upon the Organized Baseball scene. Early in the season, he pitched for several different town teams including Hagerstown, Maryland, and Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, as well as his hometown Greencastle team. He gained the notice of teams in the Cumberland Valley League (Hagerstown, Martinsburg, Carlisle, and Chambersburg) with his blazing fastball. However, he had control issues. “As usual, (Pittinger) was at times very wild,” wrote the Hagerstown Morning News after one game, “putting the ball many times on the wrong side of the batter.” In one game while pitching for Greencastle, he struck a Carlisle batter in the temple, hospitalizing him for several days.3

Pittinger’s wildness didn’t deter the Cumberland Valley League teams from pursuing him. Chambersburg fans openly courted Pittinger. However, he hooked on with rival Martinsburg. By late July of 1895 he was pitching for Carlisle. In a game on August 15, more than 1,000 watched Pittinger pitch Carlisle to a 10-2 victory over Chambersburg.4

Charles Boyer, a native of Hagerstown and the manager of Roanoke of the Virginia League, signed Pittinger for his team for 1896. At spring training with Roanoke, he was thrown to the lions when he faced the Brooklyn Dodgers in an exhibition game. He gave up 13 hits and 10 runs to the Dodgers. He made the Roanoke team but pitched in only one game during the season before he was released. Chambersburg snatched him up this time. He pitched in 13 games with Chambersburg, earning a 5-7 record with an ERA of 2.91. In late August he signed with Milton of the Central Pennsylvania League, where he finished the season.5

Pittinger started the 1897 season by playing for the Greensburg, Pennsylvania, town team, where he mowed down the opposition. Sporting Life reported that Pittinger won 16 of the 18 games he pitched. By July, Brockton of the New England League signed him after he was recommended by Brooklyn’s Jimmy Sheckard and minor leaguer Henry “Patsy” Rollins. According to Sporting Life, “Brockton gathered in a Klondike nugget when it corralled pitcher Pittinger.”6

Pittinger had a fine season with Brockton. He went 14-4 with a 1.01 ERA in 22 games to lead Brockton to the pennant. At one point in the season, he was called on to pitch two games in one day. The Providence Journal called Pittinger “a first-class man.” He still had some trouble getting the ball over the plate. “Although he pitches numerous wild balls,” said the Journal, “he manages to get them over when it is necessary.”7

Pittinger caught the eye of Boston Beaneaters owner James B. Billings, who sent manager Frank Selee to watch Pittinger pitch against Taunton in the last game of the season. Selee liked what he saw. “He’s a strong built young fellow,” Salee told the Boston Herald. “He has a good delivery and good command and handles himself like a ball tosser.” So Boston signed the big right-hander after the season ended to a $150-a-month contract for 1898.8

In late March Pittinger met the team train in Baltimore and headed to Greensboro, North Carolina, for spring training. Sporting Life reported that he had “shown tremendous bursts of speed” on his pitches. But Pittinger’s spring training was cut short when he received a telegram that his wife, Violetta (or Viola as her friends called her) was sick. He left the team and headed home to tend to his wife. He also had two daughters at home as well.9

While Pittinger was away, Selee decided to farm him out. He originally offered Pittinger back to Brockton. When his letter to Brockton wasn’t answered, Selee sent him to Kansas City. But when it was learned that Brockton never received the letter, he was again offered back to Brockton. Pittinger pitched in seven games with Brockton, going 6-0. It appears that Boston recalled Pittinger only to have him sit on the bench.10

In late July Providence of the Eastern League “borrowed” Pittinger from Boston. It’s unclear if he pitched for Providence. What is clear is that by the middle of August, Pittinger was pitching semipro ball for the Greensburg Athletic Club. The Boston Herald even noted that he pitched in a semipro game in Atlantic City. Providence wanted Pittinger for the stretch run in September but Boston wouldn’t or couldn’t send him. It may have been that Pittinger was unhappy with the financial arrangements and chose to leave the team. In November he wrote Boston asking for his release or a trade.11

Despite several teams requesting Pittinger, including Bill Sharsig’s Allentown Peanuts of the Atlantic League, Boston held firm to Pittinger. In February rumors began that he was going to Worcester of the Eastern League. But the March 18 issue of Sporting Life ran this ad under the section “Engagements Wanted”: “C.R. Pittinger, pitcher, though under contract to the Boston Club, has received right to negotiate with any clubs outside the National League. He would like to hear from Atlantic or Eastern League clubs.”12

Rumors continued to swirl about where Pittinger would land. In mid-March there was a report that he was going to Worcester. But when the dust cleared, he was on the roster of Springfield Ponies of the Eastern League. Pittinger pitched very well for the Ponies in 1899, carrying a 9-5 record into mid-July. But at that point he mysteriously left the team, never to return during the season.13 The first report was that on July 18, while he was on the bench during a game against Toronto, Pittinger received a telegram saying his wife was dying. He left the team immediately.14

A year later Sporting Life said Springfield had claimed that Pittinger asked for a $70 advance on his salary and then skipped town. This came out in a hearing about a grievance Boston filed against Springfield for $25 that the Beaneaters claimed Springfield owed them for Pittinger. In the end, the National Board ruled against Springfield.15

Whatever the reason for his departure, nine days later Springfield received “word” that Viola had recovered and Pittinger was coming back to Springfield. But he never went back.

Instead, Pittinger pitched late in the 1899 season for several semipro teams near his home in Greencastle. He refused to rejoin Springfield. Springfield asked Boston to release Pittinger so the Ponies could punish him. Boston, however, wanted $500 for the rights to Pittinger and Springfield balked. Pittinger remained home for the rest of the season while pitching for the Susquehanna team of Harrisburg. Boston was unfazed by Pittinger’s desertion and reserved him for 1900.16

Indeed, in February, Boston manager Selee called Pittinger the best pitcher in the Eastern League in 1899. Again Pittinger went to Greensboro with Boston for spring training. This time he came back north as a member of the team. The Boston Herald was impressed with Pittinger, saying that he had “excellent command and speed, and is not easily rattled.”17

On April 26 Pittinger made his major-league debut when he relieved Harvey Bailey in the sixth inning against the New York Giants. He was sailing along until the bottom of the ninth when he gave up five runs to allow the Giants to tie the game, 10-10. The game was then called because of darkness.18

Manager Selee, despite the ninth-inning implosion, felt confident enough in Pittinger to start him seven times in the early going. But in June Pittinger again left his team because of illness in his family. Sporting Life noticed a pattern starting, writing, “There is scarcely a season that ‘Pitt’ is not obliged to go home, and when he goes there is no telling when he will come back.”19

When Pittinger did return, he started one more game for Boston. On June 27 Boston sent him to Worcester of the Eastern League.

The Boston newspapers were incredulous that Pittinger had been sent down. A headline in the Boston Sunday Herald read, “Boston Made a Big Mistake. Player Pittenger Should Not Have Been Farmed Out.” The article said that Pittinger was “far too good a man to be allowed to remain away from the team.” The pitcher has “command, confidence, speed and curves.” Even Brooklyn manager Ned Hanlon weighed in: “There’s an opening for him with Brooklyn anytime.”20

Nevertheless, Pittinger remained with Worcester. He left that team to be with his family in late July and returned in early August. When he was with Worcester, he was fantastic. He finished the season with a 13-5 mark in 19 starts with 18 complete games.21

Boston brought Pittinger back on September 4, releasing Nig Cuppy to make room. The Boston papers were still trying to figure out why Boston had farmed Pittinger. The Herald claimed it was economics. Sporting Life backed up that claim by reporting that Pittinger made $200 a month with Worcester and only $150 a month for Boston.22

Pittinger’s return was less than triumphant. He struggled greatly in the last month of the season. The local papers, which had made a great fuss about Pittinger’s not being on the team, now turned on him. He was often referred to derisively as the “handsome Mr. Pittinger.” Sporting Life wrote, “Pittenger fizzled badly at the end. He opened strongly and did most successful work with Worcester but he did not do pitching of a League standard at the close.”23

In the offseason, Boston tried to trade or sell Pittinger but found no takers. After trying to deal him at a league meeting, Selee said, “We expect to keep Pittenger. I think he is a very good man for the spring and we have no desire to farm him.”24

Selee was good to his word even though Worcester wanted Pittinger back for the 1901 season. Pittinger rewarded Selee with a solid season. He was 13-16 for the fifth-place Nationals with 27 complete games and an ERA of 3.01. Selee was given a scare on August 10 when Pittinger was hit in the head with a batted ball and knocked unconscious against Brooklyn. But he was back on the mound five days later.25

On September 10, with a month left in the season, Pittinger signed a contract with Boston for 1902. The Philadelphia Athletics and Boston of the upstart American League had made overtures toward Pittinger, prompting the early contract offer.26

Pittinger responded in 1902 with a tremendous season. He finished with a 27-16 mark, a 2.52 ERA, and 36 complete games. He shut out opponents seven times. He pitched an astounding 389⅓ innings. He was still wild, leading the league in walks with 128.

One of the few low points came on June 3 when the St. Louis Cardinals’ Mike O’Neill, pinch-hitting against Pittinger, became the first major-league pitcher to pinch-hit a grand slam. But Pittinger bounced back just 11 days later to one-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates.27

As the season progressed, Boston knew it had to sign Pittinger and teammate Vic Willis during the season. Newspaper reports claimed that Pittinger and Willis were ready to jump to the American League. One report had Detroit offering Pittinger $5,000 for 1903. Another said Pittinger had received a half-dozen offers from the American League. Sporting Life wrote that “it is going to cost more to keep [Pittinger] than it did last season.”28

During August, representatives of American League teams followed Pittinger wherever Boston played. When he was on the road, he was accustomed to being awakened late at night by teams making offers.29 The pursuit did nothing to bother him. In fact, he was pitching the best baseball of his career. By mid-August, Pittinger had thrown six shutouts and eight one-run games. His record by August 26 was 20-9 and he had won his last ten games in a row, which was thought at the time to be tied for the second best winning streak of all time. “He is one of the best pitchers in the country to-day,” wrote Sporting Life. Boston’s hand was forced. On August 29 Pittinger signed a two-year contract for a reported $4,000 per year.30

After he signed, Pittinger didn’t pitch well, going 7-7 down the stretch. He continued to pitch semipro baseball for Chambersburg after the season ended. One of his Chambersburg teammates was Cleveland Indian Gus Dorner. In the offseason, Pittinger moved from Greencastle to Carlisle, Pennsylvania.31

Before heading to Thomasville, Georgia, for spring training in 1903, Pittinger practiced with the Dickinson College baseball team in Carlisle. While throwing one day with the college players, he hurt his arm. He complained of a “lame shoulder” during the first week of spring training and the arm still bothered him into April. Yet he started the season well, winning his first four games.32

Pittinger’s success didn’t last long. By late May he was losing more games than he won. He rallied a bit in June, ending the month with a 10-9 record. But he struggled the rest of the season, finishing with an 18-22 record and leading the league in six negative pitching categories. An abysmally bad hitter even for a pitcher (the Philadelphia Press once wrote, “(W)hen Pittinger makes a base hit, it’s time to give the offending twirler a notice of his release”), one of his lone bright spots in 1903 came on June 27, when he slugged his only major-league home run, off the New York Giants’ Dummy Taylor.33

Boston was very unhappy with how its investment in Pittinger had paid off. After the season, he asked for a $700 advance on his salary for 1904 and co-owner James B. Billings refused the request.34 Pittinger took the offensive and requested a trade to the Cincinnati Reds. Boston countered by trying to trade him to the last-place St. Louis Cardinals. Pittinger threatened to leave Organized Baseball if he was traded there.35

In the end, Pittinger stayed with Boston but neither party was happy with the situation. Tragically, Pittinger’s oldest daughter died during the year. It had not been a good year for the pitcher.

The 1904 season turned out to be even more contentious than 1903. Boston was unable to trade Pittinger. He refused to consider the few teams (Louisville among them) that showed interest. There were rumors that Boston would release Pittinger.36

Boston co-owner Arthur H. Soden didn’t help Pittinger’s trade value when he weighed in on the subject before spring training. “Pittinger is a good pitcher when he can be kept in good humor,” Soden told the Boston Journal, “But when things go against him, he becomes petulant and acts like a spoiled child. Pitchers of that kind are hard to handle.”37

While waiting for spring training, Pittinger trained at the Carlisle Indian School. He was rumored to be thinking about taking the manager position of the Greensburg town team.38

To make matters worse for Boston, Pittinger refused to play on Sundays. “He promised his mother when he was a boy that he would never play baseball or go to the stage on Sunday,” said the Boston Globe.39

Pittinger bounced back to have a slightly better season after the debacle of 1903. He still led the league in walks but he dropped his ERA by almost a full run to 2.66. He finished with a 15-21 record for the woeful Braves. Still the season wasn’t without controversy. In late July Pittinger left the team without telling anyone. He later claimed he was sick. When he returned, he was told he’d be docked $150 for the time he was away. Pittinger refused to play until the fine was rescinded. He sat in the stands during an August 3 doubleheader. The next day he was back on the mound for the second game of another doubleheader. He pitched a three-hitter only to lose to St. Louis, 1-0.40

Pittinger was busy when he went home with his “sickness.” He called the Harrisburg club of the outlaw Tri-State League to check if there was any interest in his services. Harrisburg didn’t need pitchers at the time. He also purchased a billiard room in Carlisle.41

Boston had had enough of Pittinger. This time, though, at least three major-league teams, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis were interested in him. On December 14, 1904, Boston traded Pittinger to the Phillies for Chick Fraser and Harry Wolverton.42

Both Pittinger and Boston were happy to be rid of each other. Pittinger “expressed himself as highly elated over the transaction,” wrote the Philadelphia Inquirer. Meanwhile, the Boston Globe stated that Pittinger “had outgrown his usefulness.” And the Boston Herald said that “the Boston people were about tired of his tantrums.”43

Still, Philadelphia and Pittinger had a rocky start to their relationship. Pittinger initially wouldn’t sign his contract. He asked Harrisburg again to consider him, this time as the manager of the Tri-State League club. A semipro team in Greensburg wanted him to be its manager. Pittinger was quoted as saying he had offers from four independent teams. But “after indulging in a large mid-winter bluff,” Pittinger signed with the Phillies in February.44

Pittinger joined the Philadelphia Athletics’ Chief Bender in practicing with the Dickinson College team in Carlisle. He then headed to Augusta, Georgia, to join the Phillies for spring training. There he started to work on a new pitch – the spitball.45 He used the pitch often in the early going but by May he had stopped using it as much when he struggled on the mound. He promptly went on an eight-game winning streak.46

In late June Pittinger left the Phillies. His wife, Viola, was dying. On June 30 she died from heart trouble in their home in Carlisle.47

Despite the tragic circumstances, Pittinger was not affected on the field. He responded with his best season since 1902, going 23-14 with a 3.09 ERA for the fourth-place Phillies. He led the league in games pitched and cut way back on his walks from the previous season.

Pittinger again held out at the beginning of the 1906 season. He missed all of spring training, instead coaching the Carlisle Indian Industrial School team to a 16-14 mark. He finally signed with the Phillies in late April. But in July, he left the team for health reasons. He came back in September but was sent home again because he still wasn’t well. The episode would mark the beginning of the end of Pittinger’s baseball career because of the ravaging effects of diabetes. He finished the season with an 8-10 mark and an ERA of 3.40.48

In 1907 Pittinger again refused to sign his contract with the Phillies. He threatened to jump to the Tri-State League and claimed that the Phillies owed him back pay because they didn’t pay him when he was away from the team sick. He said he was completely recovered from his illness. He wasn’t.49

Pittinger signed in late February of 1907 and went to Savannah with the Phillies for spring training. Sporting Life wrote that his troubles the year before had been caused by his absence from spring training. But despite a full spring training, Pittinger started the season off poorly. He struggled the entire year until he left the team for good in August with illness. This time he was paid in full for the season. His appearance on July 17 turned out to be the last of his career in Organized Baseball.50

Again Pittinger was busy while he was home. He opened a restaurant and a grocery store across the street from the Lindner Shoe Factory in Carlisle. He attempted to pitch in a semipro game for the Lucky Nine of Carlisle but the game was rained out. In December he took a turn for the worst with his illness. It was so bad that his mother had been called to his home to take care of him.51

In January 1908 Pittinger put his grocery store up for sale, advertising the property in the Harrisburg Patriot. The last line in the ad told the story: “Reason for selling on account of illness.” Still hope sprang eternal, and Pittinger signed a contract to pitch for Baltimore of the Eastern League.52 However, he was too ill to report to Baltimore. Pittinger moved to Atlantic City, presumably for the better weather. He rebounded and in August he even began to look for a team to play with in the Tri-State League or the Atlantic League. However, he never signed.53

Pittinger’s condition deteriorated as 1908 came to a close. On January 13, 1909, reports surfaced that he was “critically ill” at the home of his parents in Greencastle. He had been confined to his bed for a few weeks and “recovery was doubtful.”54

Pittinger died the morning of January 14, 1909, at the age of 37. With the discovery of insulin still 12 years in the future, diabetes had robbed him of first his vitality and then his life.

One of the survivors listed in newspaper reports was a wife. As it turned out, Pittinger had been living with a married woman in Carlisle for four years. People in Carlisle simply thought he had taken a new wife. She was even listed on his death certificate as Mrs. C. Pittinger.55 In actuality, she was Cecelia Laley Zimmerman, the Canadian-born wife of a Philadelphia bank clerk, Charles W. Zimmerman. Cecelia had left her husband and taken her daughter, Catherine, to live with Pittinger in Carlisle until his death.56

Pittinger was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Greencastle, next to his wife and daughter.

Acknowledgment

The author would like to thank a fellow SABR member, Dr. Stephen D. Boren, for his help in understanding the nature of diabetes in the early 20th century.

Notes