Early Wynn

Gus: the intimidating right-hander who won the 1959 Cy Young for the pennant-winning Sox.

Early Wynn Jr. (January 6, 1920 – April 4, 1999), nicknamed 'Gus', was a right-handed pitcher who played 23 Major League seasons for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox, known as one of the most intimidating pitchers in the game for pairing a powerful fastball with a hard attitude toward hitters. Traded to the White Sox after the 1957 season, Wynn won the 1959 Cy Young Award, leading the American League with 22 wins as the Sox took the pennant; at 39 he was the oldest pitcher to win the award, a mark that stood for 19 years. In Game 1 of the 1959 World Series he struck out six over seven scoreless innings in an 11–0 win, but failed to get past the fourth inning in two later starts as the Dodgers won in six. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

Quick Facts

Position: Pitcher
Born: 6 January 1920
Birthplace: Hartford, Alabama, U.S.
Died: 4 April 1999
Place of death: Venice, Florida, U.S.
Bats: Switch
Throws: Right
Debut league: MLB

Facts from the source article.

Background

Wynn signed with the Senators at 17, skipping the end of high school, and after wartime Army service was traded to Cleveland, where pitching coach Mel Harder taught him a curveball, slider and knuckleball; with Bob Feller, Mike Garcia and Bob Lemon he formed what historian David Fleitz called one of the greatest rotations of all time, winning 20 or more games four times and helping the 1954 Indians to an AL-record 111 wins. He came to Chicago with Al Smith in the trade that sent Minnie Miñoso to Cleveland. The White Sox released him after the 1962 season with 299 wins, and he signed with the Indians in 1963 to reach 300, picking up the milestone against the Kansas City Athletics on July 13, his last major league victory; the nine months between his 299th and 300th wins remain the longest such gap in MLB history. He later broadcast for the Blue Jays and the White Sox.