Gettysburg Eddie

Book excerpt: Who is the winningest left-handed pitcher in Philadelphia baseball history? Who is the winningest left-handed pitcher in American League history? Who is third in wins all-time among left-handed starters? Who threw more shutouts than any left-handed pitcher in baseball history? Few know the answer is Edward Stewart Plank, also known as "Gettysburg" Eddie. Born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, only a dozen years after the bloody Civil War battle, Eddie grew up on a farm and was a late-bloomer. By his early twenties, he was a local star on the town ball team and enrolled in the Gettysburg Academy in order to pitch for the Gettysburg College team. Soon after, Connie Mack from the Philadelphia Athletics in the newly-formed American League came calling and the rest is history. Eddie Plank was the mainstay of Connie Mack's early success from 1901 through 1914. Plank's unorthodox delivery and pinpoint control brought him consistent results. While others out-pitched him during individual seasons, "Steady-Eddie" provided Mack excellence year after year while others came and went. Gettysburg Eddie chronicles the life of this clean-living baseball superstar who worked hard, saved his money, and was always the perfect gentleman. Said Mack upon hearing of Eddie's premature death in 1926, "I feel like a father must feel who has lost a son."