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When Major League Baseball outlawed the spitball in 1920, seventeen active hurlers were grandfathered in and allowed to legally throw the pitch until they retired. Thirteen retired by the end of the decade. By the time 50-year old Jack Quinn then of Cincinnati threw the last pitch of his career on July 7, 1933, only one spitballer remained in each league – Red Faber in the AL and Burleigh Grimes in the Senior Circuit.

After being released by the Cubs on July 30, 1933, Grimes signed the next day with the Cardinals for whom he’d pitch until St. Louis cast him away in May, 1934. When Faber concluded his 20-year career with the White Sox at the end of ’33, Grimes became the last remaining pitcher legally permitted to throw the spitball.

Though Faber was the last AL spitballer at the time of his retirement, Grimes signed with the New York Yankees on May 28, 1934 to supersede him. Grimes would stay with the Yankees for a month before ending his career with a three-month stint back in the NL with the Pirates.

Grimes is well known as the last legal spitballer in big league history but a little known fact is that he was the last man to throw it in both the AL and the NL.

In the CooperstownExpert.com collection is the only contract Grimes ever signed to pitch for in the American League, his 1934 deal with the New York Yankees. The contract is historically significant as Grimes was the only man allowed to throw the pitch when he signed it. The agreement calls for the 270-game winner to make $5,000 as the final man in AL history to throw the outlawed pitch.

 

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The front page of this historic contract can be seen here in the deal between the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs and Burleigh Grimes of St. Louis Missouri. Notice the start date of May 28, 1934 and $5,000 salary for the remainder of the season. Pre-World War II contracts for members of the Hall of Fame are rarely seen. This one remains historically significant. By signing it and appearing with the Yankees, Grimes became the last American League hurler to legally throw the spitball.

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The inner fold of the contract shows the signature page and the back page of the document. Yankee General Manager Ed Barrow has filled out the document, penning the date of May 28, 1934. Barrow has also signed the name of Yankee owner Jacob Ruppert. Barrow’s initials can be seen just under Ruppert’s name. Hall of Fame pitcher Burleigh Grimes has signed just below that.

The four pages of the agreement also feature the signature of Hall of Fame executive and American League president William Harridge.

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Remembered today primarily as the last pitcher to legally throw the spitball, Burleigh Grimes was also a five-time 20-game winner who posted 270 career wins. Shown here is a vintage original 1933 Goudey baseball card signed by Grimes. A 19-year veteran who pitched for seven teams, Grimes had his best years as a Brooklyn Dodger from 1918-1926.

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In the collection is this autographed 1962 Fleer card of Hall of Fame pitcher Burleigh Grimes. The hurler had a significant advantage when the spitball was outlawed in 1920. Seventeen pitchers were allowed to continue to throw this pitch and Grimes would pitch another 15 seasons after it was outlawed. Asked what he used to load up the ball, Grimes said, “”I used to chew slippery elm – the bark, right off the tree. Come spring the bark would get nice and loose and you could slice it free without any trouble. What I checked was the fiber from inside, and that’s what I put on the ball. The ball would break like hell, away from right-handers and in on lefties.”

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When Burleigh Grimes retired after the 1934 season the spitball was forever legally retired with him. After baseball banned the pitch for safety reasons in 1920, Grimes legally threw it for the rest of his career. On September 20, 1934 Grimes took the hill for the Pirates against his former team, the Brooklyn Dodgers. Pitching in the top of the 8th inning, Grimes retired Tony Cuccinello on a fly out to center then induced Johnny Frederick to ground out to the shortstop. Up came Brooklyn third baseman Jersey Joe Stripp who would prove to be the last man Burleigh Grimes faced in his big league career, and by extension, the last man to face a legally thrown spitball. Grimes ended his career in style, striking out the 31-year old Stripp. In the collection is this 3×5 index card signed by Stripp, forever linked to Burleigh Grimes and the spitball.