Imagine this: the year is 1930 and it’s your major league pitching debut for the Detroit Tigers. Late in the game, you’re brought in as relief against… gulp… the New York Yankees. This is exactly what happened to Tommy Bridges. And guess what? Bridges first retired Babe Ruth on a grounder and then struck out Lou Gehrig! Not a bad start to a career that would last sixteen years with the Tigers. During that span, Bridges won 194 games and lost 138 with a 3.57 career ERA.
From 1934 to 1936, he was at the top of his game, winning sixty-six and twice leading the American League in strikeouts. A native of Gordonsville, Tennessee, Bridges threw three one-hitters as a Tiger. He pitched during World Series in 1934, 1935, and 1940, winning four games and losing one. He also had the honor of pitching in major league all-star games from 1937 to 1939.
After a stint in the Army, Bridges returned to the Tigers for the 1946 season, before playing in the Pacific Coast League for Portland, San Francisco, and finally Seattle in 1950. Bridges set a Pacific Coast League record in 1947 with an ERA of 1.67 while with Portland. Bridges remained in baseball for the rest of his life, scouting for the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, and eventually the New York Mets before he passed away in 1968. A truly magical baseball-filled life for the man who bettered Ruth and Gehrig in his rookie debut.