Hugh Daily

Who was Hugh Daily?

Hugh Ignatius Daily, born Harry Criss, nicknamed "One Arm" Daily, was an Irish American professional right-handed pitcher who played six seasons, for seven different teams; the Buffalo Bisons, the Cleveland Blues, and the St. Louis Maroons of the National League, Chicago Browns and Washington Nationals of the Union Association, and the Cleveland Blues of the American Association. He was known for having a surly disposition and was not well liked by baseball executives, which occasioned his frequent change of teams. However, he was a favorite of fans wherever he played.

Daily was successful as a starting pitcher early in his major league career. In 1883 and 1884, he won 20 or more games each season, while finishing in the top ten among league leaders in major pitching categories such as earned run average, innings pitched, complete games, and strikeouts. Daily established the pitching record for strikeouts in a season, tied a record by tossing two consecutive one-hitters, broke the record for one-hitters in a season, and threw a no-hitter. After his initial three years of success, the final three years of his career were marked by quick decline in his seasonal numbers, and he was gone from organized baseball shortly thereafter. Today he remains a mysterious figure, as there is little record of his activities after his career. It is unclear where he lived and where he died.