All-Time Indians: Hugh Daily

Hugh Daily was an Irish born pitcher who made his Major League debut in 1882 with the National League Buffalo Bisons. After a moderate season that year (2.99 ERA in 255.2 innings pitched, striking out 116), Daily joined the Cleveland Blues in the following season. To this point in the history of the Blues, Cleveland had really had just a single decent pitcher, Jim McCormick, who pitched 77% of the Blues innings from 1879 through 1882. In fact, the Blues used just eight different pitchers over those four seasons and only McCormick and George Bradley pitched in more than one. With that set-up, McCormick would finally get some back-up in 1883 when Daily joined the team.

In that 1883 season, McCormick was still the ace, posting a 1.84 ERA in 342 innings, but Daily was the stand out. He made 43 starts, relieving twice in the 57 starts he did not make. In his 378.2 innings, Daily held opponents to a 2.43 ERA and a .241 batting average against, both numbers in the top ten in Blues/Spiders single season history. Other numbers joining the top ten leaders were his 171 strike outs, a number surpassed by just McCormick (five times), Jersey Bakley and John Harkins in Cleveland baseball history, prior to 1901.

Like previous seasons, McCormick would be the only Indians pitcher to play the following season, the last in the history of the National League Blues. While Cleveland was without a baseball team from 1885 through 1887, Daily joined the Union Association, playing for the Chicago/Pittsburgh Browns and the Washington Nationals. In 1884, he took the upstart league by storm, pitching 500.2 innings in 58 starts (56 of them complete games) with a 2.43 ERA. The fledgling league wouldn’t last long, but a couple teams did last, including Daily’s Nationals. Daily actually played for another UA team that joined the National League in 1885, the St. Louis Maroons. Gone were his days of over 300 innings at the age of 37 and Daily pitched just 91.1 in his 11 starts.

Daily pitched a shortened season back with the Nationals in 1886 before coming back to Cleveland the next year. In doing so, Daily became the only pitcher to play with both the National and American Association Cleveland Blues. This would be Daily’s final season in professional baseball and it would be a solid one as the Blues third most used pitcher. Daily made 16 starts, posting a 3.69 ERA in 139.2 innings, all personal highs since his last great season with the UA Chicago/Pittsburgh team in 1884.

Despite playing just two seasons, Daily can easily be listed among the greatest pitchers in Cleveland Blues and Spiders history. Among all Cleveland pitchers prior to 1901, Daily is second in ERA (behind McCormick, but ahead of Cy Young), fourth in WHIP and in the top ten in batting average allowed, strike outs, shut outs and K/9. Making his numbers even more impressive, Daily pitched his entire career without a left hand, after losing it to a gun accident. Combined with his flash in the pan greatness, this makes Hugh “One Arm” Daily a pitcher worth remembering.