Sam Leever


Samuel Leever, nicknamed "The Goshen Schoolmaster", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Biography

Born in Goshen, Ohio, Leever came into baseball after an earlier career as a schoolteacher. He won 25 games in 1903 to help the Pirates win their third consecutive National League pennant, but lost both his starts in the World Series as the heavily favored Pirates were upset by Boston. He later went 8–1 for the 1909 Pirates, when they won their first World Series title. His lifetime ERA was 2.47 with a 194–100 record, 847 strikeouts, 39 shutouts, 241 complete games, 587 walks, and only 29 home runs allowed in 2660.2 innings.
As a hitter, Leever posted a.184 batting average with 90 runs, 17 doubles, 14 triples, 2 home runs, 78 RBI and 49 bases on balls. Defensively, he recorded a.956 fielding percentage.
Leever died at age 81 in Goshen, Ohio.