Cy Young : biography

Cleveland Naps and retirement

Young was traded back to Cleveland, the place where he played over half his career, before the 1909 season, to the Cleveland Naps of the American League. The following season, 1910, he won his 500th career game on July 19 against Washington. He split 1911, his final year, between the Naps and the Boston Rustlers.

On September 22, 1911, Young shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1–0, for his last career victory. In his final start two weeks later, the last eight batters of Young’s career combined to hit a triple, four singles, and three doubles.

Early life

Cy Young was the oldest child born to McKinzie Young, Jr. and German American Nancy Miller. The couple had four more children: Carl, Lon, Ella, and Anthony. When the couple married, McKinzie’s father gave him the of farm land he owned. Young was born in Gilmore, a tiny farming community located in Washington Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. He was christened Denton True Young. Some sources later, and even today, list his middle name erroneously as "Tecumseh", apparently as a result of being nicknamed "The Chief" by teammates.. November 1975, p. 73.

He was raised on one of the local farms and went by the name Dent Young in his early years. Young was also known as "Farmer Young" and "Farmboy Young". Young stopped his formal education after he completed the sixth grade so he could help out on the family’s farm. In 1885, Young moved with his father to Nebraska, and in the summer of 1887, they returned to Gilmore.

Cy Young played for many amateur baseball leagues during his youth, including a "semi-pro" Carrollton team in 1888. Young pitched and played second base. The first box score known containing the name Young came from that season. In that game, Young played first base and had three hits in three at-bats. After the season, Young received an offer to play for the minor league Canton team, which started Young’s professional career.

After baseball

From 1912 until his death in 1955, Cy Young lived and worked on his farm. In 1913, he served as manager of the Cleveland Green Sox of the Federal League, which was at the time an outlaw minor league. However, he never worked in baseball after that.

Young’s wife, Robba, whom he had known since childhood, died in 1933. After she died, Young tried several jobs, and eventually moved in with friends John and Ruth Benedum and did odd jobs for them. Young took part in many baseball events after his retirement. In 1937, 26 years after he retired from baseball, Cy Young was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was among the first to donate mementos to the Hall.

On November 4, 1955, Cy Young died on his farm at the age of 88. He was buried in Peoli, Ohio.