Cy Vorhees

Henry Bert Vorhees

• Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown
• Height 6' 3", Weight 200 lb.
• School Oberlin College, Syracuse University
• Debut April 17, 1902
• Final Game September 18, 1902
• Born September 30, 1874 in Lodi, OH USA
• Died February 8, 1910 in Massillon, OH USA

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Biographical Information

Cy Vorhees pitched 11 games in the big leagues in 1902 with a 3.94 ERA. Although 27, he had been in college the year before. He had attended Oberlin College in 1896, and then Syracuse University in New York State from 1897 to 1901. He made his major league debut on April 17, 1902 with the Philadelphia Phillies. It was common at that time to nickname pitchers "Cy" after "Cy Young".

In a game against Christy Mathewson, Vorhees gave up Christy's first home run.

The Phillies in 1902 finished second to last in the league, and so Vorhees' record of 3-3 was much better than anyone else on the team (no one had a record better than .500). However, his ERA of 3.86 was worse than the team ERA of 3.50.

He jumped from the Phillies to the Washington Senators and pitched one game for them. He was one of a long line of players who jumped leagues around the time. Ed Delahanty also jumped from the Phillies to the Senators, but did so before the 1902 season started.

Vorhees may have missed his calling. As a batter, he hit .391. It was the deadball era, and as a comparison, the Phillies as a team that year hit .247.