George Pipgras

George William Pipgras

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.
• High School Schleswig High School, Slayton High School
• Debut June 9, 1923
• Final Game June 2, 1935
• Born December 20, 1899 in Ida Grove, IA USA
• Died October 19, 1986 in Gainesville, FL USA

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Biographical Information

George Pipgras pitched 11 seasons in the big leagues, perhaps most famously for the New York Yankees of 1927. He also led the American League with 24 victories in 1928.

George was born far from Broadway in Ida Grove, IA. He was a farm boy (until his father went into the hotel business and eventually settled in Slayton, MN) and served in World War I. After winning 19 games for the Charleston Pals in 1922, he came to the majors with the Yankees in 1923 and 1924, but was used sparingly. In the minors with the Atlanta Crackers in 1925, he won 19 games and in 1926 he went 22-19 for the St. Paul Saints.

He was 10-3 for the legendary 1927 Yankees team, and won Game 2 of the 1927 World Series. After his excellent season in 1928, he won Game 2 of the 1928 World Series.

With the Yankees in 1929 he was 18-12 and then after a couple of less impressive years he went 16-9 for the Yankees in 1932. He won Game 3 of the 1932 World Series against the 1932 Cubs.

In May 1933 he was sold to the Boston Red Sox and pitched for them until 1935. He also played for the Nashville Volunteers during part of 1935.

A broken elbow in 1933 caused him to struggle during the rest of his pitching career.

George Pipgras {far left}, Carl Mays, Harvey Hendrick, Oscar Roettger, 4/26/1923

After going 4-6 for Nashville in 1935, Pipgras retired. He was an umpire in the New York-Penn League in 1936-1937 and the Eastern League in 1938. Pipgras was then an American League umpire from 1938 to 1946. Afterwards he was a scout and instructed umpires. His brother Ed Pipgras also played in the majors, albeit only briefly.

One source: George Pipgras

Notable Achievements

• AL Wins Leader (1928)
• AL Innings Pitched Leader (1928)
• AL Shutouts Leader (1930)
• 15 Wins Seasons: 4 (1928-1930 & 1932)
• 20 Wins Seasons: 1 (1928)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 4 (1928-1930 & 1932)
• 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1928)
• Won four World Series with the New York Yankees (1923, 1927, 1928 & 1932; he did not play in the 1923 World Series)

Related Sites

• George Pipgras at the SABR Bio Project
• George Pipgras at Retrosheet.org