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Richard William " Rube" Marquard (October 9, 1886 – June 1, 1980) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball in the 1910s and early 1920s. He achieved his greatest success with the New York Giants. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.
Newspaper reports first mentioned Marquard in 1905, when he played with an amateur team in Cleveland. Though pitching for a poor team that had a 1–15 win–loss record at one point, Marquard attracted attention as a top pitcher. He broke a City League record with 16 strikeouts in a game against a team known as Brittons Printing. In September, the City League season finished and he signed with the semiprofessional Telling Strollers, an independent team sponsored by an ice cream company.Mansch, p. 13.
In 1907, he went 23–13 with a 2.01 earned run average (ERA) and led the Central League in wins. "1907 Central League Pitching Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2013. In 1908, he went 28–19 with a 1.69 ERA and led the American Association in wins. "1908 American Association Pitching Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2013. The New York Giants purchased Marquard for $11,000 — a then unheard-of sum to pay for a baseball player's contract — and his lack of success early in his major-league career led to his being tagged "the $11,000 lemon".
From 1911 to 1913, Marquard won at least 23 games each season, and helped the Giants win three consecutive National League pennants. In 1911, he led the league with 237 . In 1912, he led the league with 26 wins. "Rube Marquard Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2013. He also made baseball history by winning 19 decisions in a row.
In 1914, Marquard went 12–22, and in 1915, he joined the Brooklyn Robins. He helped the team win pennants in 1916 and 1920. He then played for the Cincinnati Reds in 1921 and Boston Braves from 1922 to 1925.
During the 1920 World Series, he was arrested for ticket scalping in Cleveland. He was alleged to be selling eight world box seats for $350 ($ in current dollar terms), while the original cost was $52.80 ($ in current dollar terms). He was found guilty and fined $1 plus $3.50 in court costs.
Marquard finished his major-league career in 1925 with a record of 201–177 and a 3.08 ERA. His 1,593 strikeouts ranked third in major-league history among left-handers at the time (behind Rube Waddell and Eddie Plank), and stood as the National League record for southpaws until his total was surpassed by Carl Hubbell, another New York Giant, in 1942.
He later pitched and managed in the minor leagues until 1933. After baseball, he worked as a betting window teller at Narragansett Park.
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971. His selection has often been criticized by the sabermetrics community, since Marquard's career adjusted ERA+ was only slightly better than league average. Bill James described Marquard as "probably the worst starting pitcher in the Hall of Fame." Marquard had been interviewed for the popular 1966 baseball book, The Glory of Their Times, and his chapter is thought to be one of the primary reasons for his election. However, most of the stories that he "recounted" were later found to be false.
Marquard died in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 1, 1980, at the age of 93. He is interred in Baltimore Hebrew Cemetery in Baltimore.
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