Frank Mountain

Professional baseball career

Mountain began his professional career in July 1880 with the Troy Trojans of the National League, appearing in only two games and posting a 1–1 record with a 5.29 ERA. The following year he played for the Detroit Wolverines during their inaugural National League season, making seven starts—all complete games—and compiling a 3–4 record and a 5.25 ERA; he pitched and won both games of a double-header for Detroit in 1881. In 1882 he split time between the Worcester Worcesters of the National League (18 games) and the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association (8 games), finishing with a combined 4–22 record and a 3.76 ERA.

Columbus

Mountain joined the Columbus Buckeyes of the American Association in 1883 and appeared in 128 games for them over the 1883 and 1884 seasons, working as a pitcher in 101 of those contests and as an outfielder in 29. In 1883 he set career highs with 59 pitching starts, 57 complete games, four shutouts, and 503 innings pitched, while leading the American Association in losses (33), hits allowed (546), earned runs allowed (201), and bases on balls allowed (123).

His best season came in 1884, when he won 23 games, lost 17, threw 40 complete games, and posted a 2.45 ERA—fifth best in the American Association—along with five shutouts, which ranked fourth. On June 5, 1884, he pitched a no-hitter against the Washington Nationals, winning 12–0. After the 1884 season, Mountain and the entire Columbus team were sold to the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, but an injury limited him to five games in 1885, during which he went 1–4 with a 4.30 ERA.

Pittsburgh

In August 1885 the Alleghenys indefinitely laid him off until he could pitch in his old form. The Sporting Life noted in November 1885 that his disability was a terrible disappointment to the club, as he could no longer bat effectively despite having been a strong hitter in 1884; his batting average dropped from .238 in 1883 to .100 in 1884. One account attributed the arm damage to a drop ball pitch thrown with a motion that brought the arm above the head and released the ball with a sharp downward snap of the wrist.

Family and later years

Mountain married Sarah Mountain, and the couple had five children: Martin (born 1888), Jennie (born 1890), Rose (born 1894), Raymond (born 1898), and Hugh (born c. 1905). Around 1895 he became a clerk for General Electric Company in Schenectady, New York, working there for nearly 40 years and serving for many years as assistant chief of the factory fire department. He retired in 1931 and died at his home in Schenectady in 1939 at age 79, and was buried at the Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery in Schenectady.

Did You Know?

• Mountain was born in Fort Edward, New York, to Irish immigrant parents; his father David was a carpenter from Waterford, and his mother Elizabeth was from County Cork.