Red Faber

Urban Clarence "Red" Faber (September 6, 1888 – September 25, 1976) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1914 through 1933, playing his entire career for the Chicago White Sox. He was a member of the 1919 team but was not involved in the Black Sox scandal because he missed the World Series due to injury and illness.

Faber won 254 games over his 20-year career, a total which ranked 17th-highest in history upon his retirement. At the time of his retirement, he was the last legal spitballer in the American League; another legal spitballer, Burleigh Grimes, would later be traded to the AL and appear in 10 games for the Yankees in 1934. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964.

Early life

Faber was born on a farm near Cascade, Iowa, on September 6, 1888. He was of Luxembourgish ancestry. While Faber was a child, his father managed a tavern and later ran the Hotel Faber in Cascade. His father became one of the wealthiest citizens in Cascade. As a teenager, Faber attended college prep academies in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin and Dubuque, Iowa. By the age of 16, Faber was receiving $2 to pitch Sunday games with a local baseball team in Dubuque.