Russell William Ford was a Canadian-American professional baseball pitcher.
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25 Facts About Russ Ford
4.
Russ Ford was the third of five children born to Walter and Ida Ford.
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5.
Russ Ford's mother was a second cousin of Grover Cleveland, who served as president of the United States.
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6.
The Russ Ford family moved to the United States when he was three years old, and settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota when he was 10 years old.
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7.
Russ Ford made his professional baseball debut in the Northern League with a team based in Enderlin, North Dakota, in 1904, but the team folded during the season.
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8.
Russ Ford continued playing in the 1904 season with a team in Lisbon, North Dakota.
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9.
In 1907, Russ Ford discovered the emery ball, a pitch that was thrown with a ball that had been scuffed with a piece of emery.
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10.
When warming up with catcher Ed Sweeney under a grandstand due to rain, Russ Ford accidentally threw a ball into a wooden upright, marking the surface.
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11.
Russ Ford threw another pitch with the damaged ball, and noticed how it curved more than previous pitches.
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12.
Russ Ford continued to study the effects of the rough patch on the wind resistance of the baseball when practicing, but did not yet begin to use it in a game.
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13.
Russ Ford returned to Atlanta for the 1908 season, and his pitching began to draw attention from major league teams.
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14.
Russ Ford made his major league debut for the Highlanders against the Boston Red Sox on April 28,1909, as a relief pitcher.
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15.
Russ Ford pitched three innings, allowing four runs on four hits, four walks, and three hit by pitches.
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16.
Russ Ford pretended to be throwing a spitball, which was still legal at the time.
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17.
Russ Ford pitched for the Highlanders in 1910, and tried to disguise his emery ball as a "slide ball", a type of spitball that could move side-to-side, in addition to up and down.
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18.
Russ Ford won 26 games against six losses for the Highlanders, and threw complete games in all 26 wins.
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19.
Russ Ford shared the secret of his emery ball with teammates Eddie Foster and Earle Gardner, who he roomed with when the Highlanders were traveling.
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20.
Russ Ford was reported to be using a knuckleball during the 1914 season.
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21.
Russ Ford's family moved to Rockingham, North Carolina, near Mary's hometown, of Reidsville, in 1923.
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22.
Russ Ford went into banking and worked as a cashier in a local bank.
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23.
When she did, Russ Ford moved back to Rockingham, and lived a quiet life in retirement.
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24.
Russ Ford died of a heart attack on January 24,1960, in Rockingham.
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