Slim Harriss

Who was Slim Harriss?

William Jennings Bryan Harriss was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball between the 1920 and 1928 seasons. Listed at 6 ft 6 in, 180 lb., Harriss batted and threw right-handed. A native of Brownwood, Texas, he studied at Howard Payne University.

A tall, lanky hurler, Harriss entered the majors in 1920 with the Philadelphia Athletics, playing for them six and a half years before joining the Boston Red Sox. Twice he led the American League in losses, with 20 in 1922 and 21 in 1927. His most productive season came with the 1925 Athletics, when he recorded career-highs with 19 wins, a 3.49 ERA, and 252⅔ innings pitched. During the 1926 midseason, he was sent by the Athletics along Fred Heimach and Baby Doll Jacobson to the Red Sox in the same transaction that brought Tom Jenkins and Howard Ehmke to Philadelphia. In 1928, he led the hapless pitching staff of Boston with 14 wins and 77 strikeouts.

In a nine-season career, Harriss posted a 95–135 record with 644 strikeouts and a 4.26 ERA in 349 appearances, including 228 starts, 89 complete games, seven shutouts, 78 games finished, 16 saves, and 1750⅓ innings of work.

Harriss died in Temple, Texas at age 66.