Article about Tom Cheney in Washington Post Magazine, June 22, 2008

[Aa3rt]

An interesting, but sad, article about Tom Cheney appeared in the Washington Post Magazine today (Sunday, June 22, 2008).

The article, titled "Q: Which Washington Senators pitcher set the all-time record for strikeouts in a single game? A: Tom Cheney, who was rewarded with nothing but disrespect and obscurity." can be found here:

Washington Post Tom Cheney article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/19/AR2008061902831.html)

A revealing article about major league baseball in those pre-free agency days. I didn't remember it, but Cheney had been picked up from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a trade for Tom Sturdivant in June of 1961 after appearing in just 1 game for the Pirates that season. He had appeared in 3 World Series games in 1960 for Pittsburgh, and even though he only arrived on the major league roster in June of 1960, was voted a full World Series share (The then princely sum of $8,400.) by his Pirates team mates.

[Steve Jeltz]

Nice article, Aa3rt. It makes you wonder how many other pitching careers were ruined by early overuse or undiagnosed injuries in those days. Is that 228 pitch count in the 21 strikeout game accurate or just an estimate?

It's a shame that the late Tom Cheney is no longer with us today. The Nationals could have honored him somehow for his record, something that Cheney deserved, IMO.

[welch]

I would believe that Cheney realy did throw 228 pitches in that game. I haven't read this article -- just noticed this thread -- but there was an article in Nats News that talked with Cheney and about the way that Gil Hodges threw his arm away.

(Nats News is, or was, the magazine of the Washington Baseball Historical Society. For some long, long years it WAS major league baseball in Washington.)

I liked Cheney a lot...as I remember, the New Senators discovered Cheney and Claude Osteen about the same time. Osteen was among the best of the best, and his trade to the Dodgers both gave the Dodgers that unbeatable crew of Koufax/Drysdale/Osteen and gave the Nats Frank Howard and Ken McMullen, plus a pitcher (Pete Richert) that they trade for Mike Epstein.

Cheney had real talent.