Career
Born in LeGrand, Iowa, Coombs moved to Kennebunk, Maine with his family at the age of 4. He played baseball in high school in Freeport, Maine, and, in 1901-1902, for Coburn Classical prep school in Waterville, Maine. He also participated in football, track, and tennis.
Colby"s baseball field is named for him.
Three weeks after graduating, Coombs pitched in his first major league game for Philadelphia, which was a 7 hit shutout, defeating the Washington Senators 3-0. He finished 1906 with a 10-10 record and 2.50 European Research Area. In 1906, he pitched the longest complete game in the American League, 24 innings against Boston, winning 4-1.
The following year was not great as Coombs went 6-9 with a 3.12 European Research Area. In 1908 and 1909 his record was only 19-16 despite his European Research Area being 2.00 and 2.32 those years. His best season was 1910 which is still one of the best single pitching seasons in MLB history.
Besides his record of 31–9, he led the American League in wins (31), games played (45), and shutouts (13), which is still the single season Alabama record.
Don Drysdale and Orel Hershiser have since broken the mark. He made appearances in the 1911 and 1916 World Series. In 1919, he was the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies for 62 games, going 18-44 before being replaced by Gavvy Cravath.
He returned to play one final year in 1920 before retiring.
Coombs became a championship-winning coach at Duke University (1929-1952) who sent many players to the majors. Duke University"s baseball field is named after him.
He spent his retirement as a sports historian and writer In 1945, he published, "Baseball – Individual Play and Team Strategy".
