Jim Waugh

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James Elden Waugh

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Biographical Information[edit]

Right-hander Jim Waugh pitched 46 games in the majors, all before his 20th birthday.

Following graduation from Lancaster High School in 1951, Waugh had tryouts with the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates and signed with Pittsburgh. After going 12-8 between two clubs in his first pro season, he was 4-9 with a 3.18 ERA for the Charleston Rebels of the South Atlantic League in 1952 before being called up by the Pirates. As an eighteen-year-old, he made his first big league appearance, starting against the Chicago Cubs on August 9th. He threw a complete game, giving up seven hits, en route to the victory (becoming the youngest player in Pirate history to earn a win) before losing his next six decisions. He was back with the Pirates in 1953 and was 4-5 in 29 games. But despite all that valuable experience in the majors at such a tender age, he struggled with injuries and never returned to the bigs beyond his teenage years. He retired at age 23 and closed his major league career with a 5-11 mark.

Waugh had attended Ohio State University in the off-seasons, worked as an industrial engineer and operator at a water treatment plant before retiring in Fort Worth, TX. He died in Rock Hill, SC in 2010.

Waugh, as of 2010, is the only player in Major League history with a last name that starts with "Wau". There are currently no players in the minor leagues that have a chance of "threatening" this title any time soon, although retired minor leaguers that had surnames that began with "Wau" include Joseph Waugh and Jason Waugh.

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