Urban Shocker

Urban James Shocker
born Urbain Jacques Shockcor

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.
• High School Lincoln High School (Cleveland)
• Debut April 24, 1916
• Final Game May 30, 1928
• Born September 22, 1890 in Cleveland, OH USA
• Died September 9, 1928 in Denver, CO USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Urban Shocker was a great pitcher in his prime and one of the 17 major league pitchers permitted to throw the spitball after it was outlawed following the 1920 season. A congenital heart condition caused an untimely death two weeks shy of his 38th birthday.

Shocker won 20 games four times for the St. Louis Browns and was 18-6 for the great 1927 New York Yankees.

In the minors, he won 20 games for Ottawa in 1914 and then followed up with 19 the next year. He pitched in Canada from 1913-1916.

Notable Achievements

• AL Wins Leader (1921)
• AL Saves Leader (1920)
• AL Strikeouts Leader (1922)
• 15 Wins Seasons: 7 (1920-1924, 1926 & 1927)
• 20 Wins Seasons: 4 (1920-1923)
• 25 Wins Seasons: 1 (1921)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 9 (1919-1927)
• 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 2 (1921 & 1922)
• Won a World Series with the New York Yankees in 1927 (he did not play in the World Series)

Further Reading

• Steve L. Steinberg: "Free Agency in 1923? A Shocker for baseball", in The National Pastime, SABR, Number 20 (2000), pp. 121-123.
• Steve Steinberg: Urban Shocker: Silent Hero of Baseball's Golden Age, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2017. ISBN 978-0-8032-9599-5

Related Sites

• Urban Shocker at the SABR Bio Project