Elton Chamberlain has one of the best baseball nicknames I've ever heard. Icebox Chamberlain is just a great baseball name. And he wasn't a bad pitcher either.
The Browns purchased Chamberlain from Louisville in 1888 for either $4,000 or $5,000 at the tail end of their championship run and he went 11-2 for them that year. In the World Series against the New York Giants that year, he pitched a 3-0 shutout. In 1889, Chamberlain went 34-15 as the Browns failed to win the pennant for the first time in four years. He went 3-1 in 1890 before being shipped off to Columbus for $1,500. His overall record for the Browns was 48-18 in 71 starts.
Chamberlain's career record was 159-120 over ten seasons with an ERA of 3.57 and an ERA+ of 112. He lead the AA in shutouts in 1890 and finished in the top five in ERA three times, winning percentage three times, strikeouts per nine innings four times, and strikeouts twice. Not a bad career.
1 comment:
Well, there is "Icicle" for Wes Fisler, a star of the 1860s and early 1870s. His reputation was of being quite gentlmanly, so I interpret the nickname as commenting on his keeping his cool under any circumstances.
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