Background
He was born in Montclair, New Jersey and died in Sepulveda, California, at age 79.
He was born in Montclair, New Jersey and died in Sepulveda, California, at age 79.
Listed at 6 ft 0 in (183 m), 180 pounds, Ferguson batted and threw right-handed. Ferguson was one of the first forkball specialists in major league history. He entered the majors in 1918 with the New York Yankees, playing for them two years (1918, 1921) before joining the Boston Red Sox (1922–1925), Washington Senators (1925–1926), again the Yankees (1925), and with the Philadelphia Phillies (1927–1929) and Brooklyn Robins (1925).
During the World Series, he pitched well against the Pittsburgh Pirates, going 1–1 with a 3.21 European Research Area in two starts.
In a 10-season career, Ferguson posted a 61–85 record with 397 strikeouts and a 4.89 European Research Area in 257 appearances, including 166 starts, 62 complete games, two shutouts, 10 saves, and 1241⅔ innings of work. In 1926 Ferguson set a major league record for the highest European Research Area during a regular season by a pitcher who started a postseason game the same year.
Ferguson collected a combined 6.18 European Research Area while pitching with the Red Sox, Yankees and Senators. The mark was broken in 2006 by Óliver Pérez of the New York Mets, who posted a 6.55 European Research Area during the regular season before start Game 4 of the Netherlands Championship Series.