23 Facts About Frank Lary

Frank Strong Lary was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, Milwaukee Braves, and Chicago White Sox.

Frank Lary led the American League with 21 wins in 1956 and ranked second in the same category with 23 wins in 1961.

Frank Lary was born in Northport, Alabama, in April 1930 as the sixth of seven children in the family.

Frank Lary was raised with his six brothers at a two-bedroom house in his family's farm near Northport.

Frank Lary's father, Joseph Milton "Mitt" Lary, was a cotton farmer and a former semipro spitball pitcher, who coached young Lary and five of his brothers when they were not working in the farm.

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Frank Lary attended Tuscaloosa County High School and then went on to play baseball for the University of Alabama.

Frank Lary dropped out of Alabama after two years to play professional baseball.

Frank Lary began his minor league career playing at Thomasville, Georgia, in the Georgia–Florida League.

Frank Lary missed the 1951 and 1952 seasons due to service in the US Army.

Frank Lary was considered a leading prospect with the Buffalo Bisons of the International League in 1953 and 1954.

Frank Lary was called up to the Tigers late in the 1954 season, making his Major League debut on September 14.

Frank Lary played in parts of 11 seasons for the Tigers, and his 123 wins rank tenth in team history.

Frank Lary led the American League in multiple statistical categories in 1956, including wins, games started, innings pitched, hits allowed, hit batsmen, and batters faced, and finished 17th in the voting for Most Valuable Player in the American League.

Frank Lary became the first pitcher to win seven games in one year against the Yankees since Ed Cicotte accomplished the feat in 1916.

Frank Lary was known by the nickname "Taters" after a teammate noticed him write "Taters" for potatoes on a dining car order during a 1955 road trip.

Frank Lary threw a career-high and league-leading 22 complete games in 1961.

Frank Lary was selected for the American League All-Star team and won the Gold Glove Award in 1961.

Frank Lary finished third in the 1961 Cy Young Award behind Ford and Warren Spahn.

Frank Lary was a workhorse for the Tigers from 1955 to 1961.

Frank Lary started more than 30 games in each of those seven season and led the American League in complete games three times in four years from 1958 to 1961.

When Frank Lary first came up, he relied on a hard fastball and a slider.

Frank Lary had difficulty with the pitch at first but ultimately improved at throwing it, to the point that he could throw it as a strike.

Frank Lary died on the night of December 13,2017 at a hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, south of Northport from pneumonia at the age of 87.