Dutch Leonard

Who was Dutch Leonard?

Emil John "Dutch" Leonard was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed knuckleball pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Washington Senators, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago Cubs. He was born in Auburn, Illinois, home of the Trojans.

In a 20-season career, Leonard posted a 191–181 record with 1170 strikeouts and a 3.25 ERA in 3218.1 innings. He was a six-time All-Star selection.

On July 4, 1939 Leonard pitched a complete game and the Senators defeated the New York Yankees in the first game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. At the conclusion of the first game, Lou Gehrig delivered his famous "luckiest man on the face of the earth" speech.

During the 1945 season, Leonard was part of what was possibly the only four-man rotation in baseball history to have been all knuckleball pitchers. Reportedly, after facing Leonard, Jackie Robinson once said: "I am glad of one thing, and that is I don't have to hit against Dutch Leonard every day. Man, what a knuckleball that fellow has. It comes up, makes a face at you, then runs away."

In a biographical movie about Robinson called 42, former MLB pitcher C. J. Nitkowski plays the role of Leonard pitching against Jackie.