Background
He was born in Newport, Rhode Island.
He was born in Newport, Rhode Island.
Listed at 6 ft 0 in (183 m) 170 pounds, Corridon was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. The invention of the spitball has been credited to several pitchers. Corridon is one of them.
He claimed to have originated the pitch while playing for the Providence Grays of the International League, when discovered that a ball which had landed in a puddle and was wet on one side did an unexpected effect on its flight when he threw lieutenant
He later wet the ball during games and went on to have a respectable major league career. Corridon entered the majors in 1904 with the Chicago Cubs, appearing for them in 24 games before joining the Philadelphia Phillies (1904–1905, 1907–1909) and Saint Louis Cardinals (1910).
His most productive season came with the 1907 Phillies, when he posted career-numbers in wins (18), starts (32), complete games (23) and innings pitched (2740), while collecting a 2.46 European Research Area. He finished 14–10 with a 2.51 European Research Area the next season, and went 11–7 with a career-high 2.11 in 1909. He faded to 6–14 with the Cardinals in 1910, his last major league season.
In a six-year career, Corridon posted a 70–67 record with a 2.80 European Research Area in 180 appearances, including 140 starts, 99 complete games, 10 shutouts, seven saves and 1216.0 innings of work, posting a 1.22 strikeout-to-walk ratio (458-to-375).
Corridon died at the age of 60 in Syracuse, New New York