Eddie Kolb

Edward William Kolb

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11"

• Debut October 15, 1899
• Final Game October 15, 1899
• Born July 20, 1880 in Cincinnati, OH USA
• Died October 1, 1949 in Calgary, AB CAN

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Biographical Information

Eddie Kolb was the youngest pitcher on the worst major league team ever, the Cleveland Spiders of 1899 who went 20-134. He pitched eight innings on the last day of the Spiders' season.

Kolb was the captain of an amateur team in Cincinnati, OH who also worked at a hotel where the Spiders sometimes stayed. Kolb managed to convince the manager to let him pitch the last game of the season.

He ended up with a rather inglorious stat line. To be fair to Eddie, he had to pitch against some pretty imposing batters: Sam Crawford, Jake Beckley, Bid McPhee among others on the Cincinnati team. Sporting Life listed him as "Holb".

Eddie later managed a number of years at independent leagues in Ohio and West Virginia and for the minor league Vincennes Alices and Brockton Tigers, for whom he was a player/manager, as well as for a semi-pro team based in Cincinnati, the Norwoods. He tried unsuccessfully to buy the Montreal Royals in 1908.

He worked for a couple of railroads and later ran a restaurant in Calgary, AB for many years. Then he moved into the oil industry and was a major figure in the development of what would soon become Alberta's principal natural resource.

Related Sites

• Eddie Kolb at the SABR Bio Project