Howie Camnitz

Who was Howie Camnitz?

Samuel Howard Camnitz was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League and for the Pittsburgh Rebels in the Federal League. A native of Covington, Kentucky, he batted and threw right-handed. In an 11-season career, Camnitz posted a 133–106 record with 915 strikeouts and a 2.75 ERA in 2085.1 innings pitched.

Camnitz pitched briefly with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1904 and 1906. In his first full season in 1907, he had a 13–8 record with a 2.15 ERA in 180 innings, including a five-inning no-hitter against the New York Giants on August 23. The next year, he went 16–9 with a 1.56 ERA and 15 complete games in 19 starts.

With an excellent curveball, Camnitz collected three 20-win seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1909 to 1912, leading his team to the 1909 World Series after winning 25 games in the regular season and tying Christy Mathewson for the National League lead winning percentage.

Camnitz pitched at least 240 innings for seven consecutive years with a career-high 283 innings in 1909, winning 20 games in 1911 and 22 in 1912. After a 6–17 start in 1913, he was sent by the Pirates to the Philadelphia Phillies in the midseason. He pitched in nine games for them and had a 3–3 record, then jumped to the Pittsburgh Rebels in the Federal League in 1914 and posted a 14–19 mark. After battling arm problems, he retired in 1915.