Vern Law

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Vern Law bigraphy, stories - American baseball player

Vern Law : biography

March 12, 1930 –

Vernon Sanders Law (born March 12, 1930) is an American former baseball pitcher who played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played from 1950–1951 and 1954–1967. He batted and threw right-handed and was listed at and .

Law signed for the Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1948 and played for three of their minor league affiliates until 1950, when the Cardinals promoted him to the major leagues.

Playing career

Law was born on March 12, 1930 in Meridian, Idaho. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates before the 1948 season and spent 1948 and 1949 in the minor leagues.. baseball-reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2013.

Law made his major league debut for the Pirates in 1950. In 1960, he had a win–loss record of 20-9 with a 3.08 earned run average. He led the National League in complete games, made the all-star team, and won the Cy Young Award that season. In the 1960 World Series, he won two games to help the Pirates defeat the New York Yankees.

Law finished his career with a record of 162-147. The interruption in his baseball career between the 1951 and 1954 seasons were due a stint in military service. He won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 1965 for his contributions both on and off the field.

Personal life

Law was made an LDS deacon at the age of 12, became a teacher two years later and was ordained a priest at 17. During his playing career, Law was tagged with the nickname "Deacon" by Pirate broadcaster Bob Prince. According to Law, it was given to him by former Pirate teammate Wally Westlake because he is a member of the ordained priesthood of the LDS Church.

Law is the pitching coach for Provo High School (PHS) varsity baseball team (PHS is located across the street from BYU where his son is the head coach), and is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He currently lives in Provo, Utah.

Law has been credited with saying, "A winner never quits and a quitter never wins" and "Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards."

His son Vance Law also played in the major leagues.