Orval Overall

Orval Overall

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 214 lb.
• School University of California
• High School Visalia High School
• Debut April 16, 1905
• Final Game July 29, 1913
• Born February 2, 1881 in Farmersville, CA USA
• Died July 14, 1947 in Fresno, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Overall throws a baseball while with the Cubs.

Orval Overall was one of the great pitchers on the top Chicago Cubs teams that dominated baseball in the early years of the twentieth century, along with teammates and fellow pitchers Mordecai Brown, Jack Pfiester, Carl Lundgren, and Ed Reulbach. Overall's lifetime major league ERA is # 13 on the all-time list - and Brown, Pfiester, Lundgren, and Reulbach are also in the top 30 of all-time.

In the 1908 World Series - which the Cubs won - Overall and Brown each won two games. Overall was the victor in the fifth and final game of the Series, pitching a complete game and three-hit shutout over the Detroit Tigers.

He umpired a total of three National League games in 1905 and 1910.

He was the first player to come to the majors from the University of California. He played baseball and football there, and was captain of the football team. Heinie Heitmuller was on the baseball and football teams at Cal as well during some of Overall's time there.

The SABR biography of Overall says his family was rich and Overall excelled in his studies at Cal, where he was freshman class president. After baseball he worked for a brewery, eventually took over his family's holdings upon his father's death and sold them for a lot of money, and worked in banking. He ran for Congress in 1918 but lost.

Notable Achievements

• NL Strikeouts Leader (1909)
• 2-time NL Shutouts Leader (1907 & 1909)
• 15 Wins Seasons: 5 (1905-1909)
• 20 Wins Seasons: 2 (1907 & 1909)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 5 (1905-1909)
• 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1905)
• 200 Strikeouts Seasons: 1 (1909)
• Won two World Series with the Chicago Cubs (1907 & 1908)

Record

Overall and Bill Donovan of Detroit started four postseason games against each other in their careers. This is still the postseason record, tied only by Whitey Ford vs Warren Spahn.

Related Sites

• Orval Overall at the SABR Bio Project
• Baseball History Daily story on Orval Overall