James Timothy Grant was born in Florida on this day in 1935 and quickly became known as Mudcat. He died in 2021.
Grant broke with the Indians in 1958 and did quite well: 10 wins and 11 complete games. In 1964, Mudcat was traded to Minnesota and pitched the Twins to the AL pennant in 1965: 21-7, 6 shutouts, 14 complete games and 3.30 ERA.
Overall, he won 145 games and the critical game 6 of the 1965 World Series. Following that great season, he was named The Sporting News American League Pitcher in 1965. To my knowledge, he is still the only black pitcher in American League history to win 20 games in a season and a World Series game. (Bob Gibson did it in the National League!)
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