Carl Mays

According to his World War I draft card, Carl William Mays was born November 12, 1891, in Atterson, Kentucky, one of five sons born to Callie Louisa Mays and William Henry Mays. His father was a Methodist minister, and was responsible for his strict religious upbringing. Mays internalized his grief, settling into a surly persona with few if any close friends. His best personal support group was a couple named Pierce and Genevieve Mays, who were relatives and served as a surrogate uncle and aunt. As a professional baseball player, he had few friends in the baseball world. In part because of his strict Methodist upbringing, Mays refused to pitch on Sundays, as did legendary pitcher Christy Mathewson. Mays quit high school before graduating and began to earn a living as a baseball player on semi-pro teams in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Utah. In 1912, he entered the minor leagues as a member of the Boise, Idaho, team in the Class D Western Tri-State League. In another, he was taught the technique by Joe McGinnity when McGinnity coached the Tacoma team during Mays's stint with Portland. Mays was nicknamed "Sub", a reference to his submarine pitching motion, In his rookie season of 1915, Mays appeared in 34 games for the Red Sox. Used mostly in relief, he won 6 games and lost 5. After order was restored, Mays hit Cobb directly on the wrist. The Tigers won the game 6–1 After a brief honeymoon in Missouri, he departed by train from his home in Mansfield for St. Louis as the leader of a group of 18 men who had enlisted in the United States Army for World War I. Though he was by now established as one of the game's premier pitchers, Mays began the 1919 season with a record of five wins and eleven losses. His slow start resulted in the Red Sox trading him to the New York Yankees that July. Mays went 9–3 after the trade, resulting in a combined 1919 record of 14–14. Mays regained his form in 1920. The Yankees finished in third place, but posted a record of 95 wins and 59 losses, only three games out of first place. Mays went 26–11, including 26 complete games. ==Death of Ray Chapman==

The Yankees were trailing the Indians 4–0 when Ray Chapman came to the plate in the fifth inning on August 16, 1920. Mays was pursuing his 100th career win that day. Chapman had a sacrifice bunt in the first inning and popped up to Yankee first baseman Wally Pipp in the third. Angered that Chapman was crowding the plate, Mays let loose with a high fastball that he claimed was in the strike zone but that Chapman apparently never saw. The impact of the ball striking Chapman in the head was so loud that Mays, thinking it had hit Chapman's bat and was in play, caught the ball as it bounced onto the field and threw it to Pipp at first base. Chapman, trying to take his base after the hit by pitch, fell to the ground twice and was unable to get up. Cleveland teammate Tris Speaker raced from the on-deck circle to check on Chapman. He was joined by several players from the Indians and Yankees. Mays, however, never left the mound. In an interview three months after Chapman's death, Mays expressed regret for the outcome, but he stated that he did not feel any guilt, as he had not hit Chapman on purpose; indeed, some of Chapman's last words before losing consciousness were "I'm all right; tell Mays not to worry". Mays received the wrath of many opposing players, who believed he beaned Chapman deliberately. Chapman had been one of the few players that Ty Cobb was on friendly terms with, so Cobb was the most vocal critic, suggesting that someone should give Mays a taste of his own medicine by hitting Mays with a pitch the same way Mays hit Chapman. ==Later career==

Mays enjoyed his best season in 1921, when he led the American League in wins (27), innings pitched (), games pitched (49), and winning percentage (.750). However, that same season Mays, pitching for the Yankees, played in a World Series that others later accused him of helping to throw, bringing back memories of the Black Sox scandal from just two years prior. These rumors were never proven, but they persisted long enough that, combined with an already negative reputation among other players both from the Chapman incident and from having a personality that few found agreeable, he was never elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame despite having lifetime statistics comparable to some other pitchers who were. In a 15-year career with the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Giants, Mays compiled a 207–126 record with 29 shutouts, 862 strikeouts and a 2.92 earned run average when the league average was 3.48. Those wins put the Red Sox one step from clinching the league championship, as they led Cleveland by games with four remaining to play. ==Later years and death==

After his playing career, Mays was the owner and operator of a baseball school in Oregon; among his most notable attendees was Johnny Pesky. He died on April 4, 1971, in El Cajon, California, and is buried in River View Cemetery, Portland, Oregon (Sec. 13, Lot 49, Sp. 7). ==Family==

After the 1918 World Series, Mays married Marjorie Fredricka Madden, a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music whom he had met during his rookie season. They were the parents of two children, Carl Jr. (1925–2017) and Elizabeth (Betty). His second wife was Esther Ugstead (1907–1990). All-Star pitcher Joe Mays, who played for the Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, and Cincinnati Reds from 1999 to 2006, is a distant cousin of Mays. ==Legacy==

In August 2008, Mays was one of the 10 former players who began their careers before 1943 to be considered by the Veterans Committee for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009. He was named on only about 25 percent of the ballots, so he was not selected for induction. In 2021, indie-folk artist Cousin Wolf released a song entitled "Carl Mays" as part of an album called Nine Innings. ==See also==