posted a 13-19 record before being sold to Allegheny. Although his lifetime batting average was barely above .200, Galvin played the outfield and once performed at shortstop. An eye injury, suffered when struck by a pitched ball, made Gentle James gun-shy in later years, and a fractured leg, suffered in a collision with Cap Anson of Chicago, created idle time that boosted Pud’s weight over 200 pounds by the time he retired in 1894. Galvin umpired for one season in the National League before returning to Pittsburgh, where he opened one of the largest cafes in the city. The father of 11, he once wisecracked that he should organize a family team and call it the “Galvinized Nine.” Galvin went broke. And, on Thanksgiving Day 1901, he was taken sick with a stomach ailment. Less than four months later, at age 45, Galvin died. Galvin, a friend of President Grover Cleveland, lived his final months in a rooming house on Pittsburgh’s lower North Side.
Sometimes he was called “Gentle James,” in tribute to his personality. Other times he was known as “Pud,” as in pudding, which, it was said, he made of opposing batters. Galvin placed little stock in the curve as a pitching weapon, relying on his fastball and control to register 46 victories in both 1883 and 1884. In ‘83, he worked a staggering 656 innings. Buck Ewing, incomparable New York catcher, insisted that “If I had Galvin to catch, no one would ever steal a base on me. That fellow keeps ‘em glued to the base, and he also has the best control of any pitcher in the league.” Galvin’s control was short of Ewing’s high praise during one game in 1886 as he walked three consecutive batters. But to the base-runners’ chagrin, they learned about Pud’s knack of keeping runners “glued.” Each was picked off base. Gentle James was all but invincible for Buffalo during a six-day period in 1884. On Aug. 2, he pitched a one-hitter. Two days later, he hurled a three-hit shutout, and the next day he worked 11 scoreless innings before bowing, 1-0. Late in the 1885 season, Pud was sold to the Allegheny (Pittsburgh) club of the American Association for $2,500, a princely sum of that day. He was given $700 from that amount, and handed a $1,000 raise by his new bosses, placing him in the $3,000 bracket. The Buffalo owners’ cash-gift generosity was in sharp contrast to their earlier treatment of Galvin. Infuriated that he was given no raise after a 46-22 campaign in ‘84, Galvin went to San Francisco and joined an independent club. Tales of his magnificent feats filtered back to Buffalo, where the Bisons were slumping dismally. On May 11, the Buffalo Express carried the welcome news: “There is great rejoicing on the baseball front. Negotiations have been opened with Gentle James.” Galvin rejoined the Buffalo club and
Senior Life 2012
Pud Galvin’s blazing fastball made him the Walter Johnson of the 19th century.
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