Ernest Edward (Tiny) Bonham (August 16, 1913 – September 15, 1949) was a
starting pitcher in
Major League Baseball. From 1940 to 1949, he played for the
New York Yankees (1940–46) and
Pittsburgh Pirates (1947–49). Bonham batted and threw right-handed. He was born in
Ione, California.
Career
In a 10-season career, Bonham posted a 103-72 record with 478
strikeouts and a 3.06
ERA in 1551.0
innings pitched.
Bonham was a skilled master of the pitching trade who kept opposing batters off balance with a baffling assortment of deliveries. He started his professional baseball career with the
Oakland Oaks of the
Pacific Coast League in 1935. He worked his way up through the New York Yankees
minor league system until 1940, when he was summoned from Triple-A Kansas City to anchor a weak Yankees pitching staff.
Remaining with the Yankees until , Bonham was a pitching mainstay of
manager Joe McCarthy's pennant-winning combinations between 1941 and 1943. Bonham supplied his team with the decisive complete game 4-hit 3–1 victory over the
Brooklyn Dodgers in Game Five of the
1941 World Series played at
Ebbets Field. But Bonham was ill-fated in his other Series starts, losing to the
St. Louis Cardinals in
1942 and
1943, both times by 4–3 scores. His most productive season came in 1942, when he led the
American League with 22
wins, six
shutouts, 22
complete games and a .808
winning percentage. He made the
All-Star team that season and again in 1943.
Hampered by a chronic back ailment...
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