Johnny Niggeling
John Arnold Niggeling (July 10, 1903 – September 16, 1963) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was a knuckleball specialist who pitched for nine seasons (1938–1946) with the Boston Bees/Braves, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators.
| Johnny Niggeling | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Pitcher | |||
| Born: July 10, 1903 Remsen, Iowa | |||
| Died: September 16, 1963 (aged 60) Le Mars, Iowa | |||
| |||
| MLB debut | |||
| April 30, 1938, for the Boston Bees | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 1, 1946, for the Boston Braves | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 64–69 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.22 | ||
| Strikeouts | 620 | ||
| Teams | |||
Born in Remsen, Iowa, Niggeling broke into the majors at the age of 35. He won a career-high 15 games with the Browns before joining the wartime Senators, who fielded a starting rotation featuring four knuckleballers. He finished in the top ten in league earned run average three times, and twice in strikeouts. His career record was 64–69 with a 3.22 ERA.
In later years, Niggeling worked as a barber in Le Mars, Iowa.[1]
Niggeling died at age 60 in LeMars, having committed suicide by hanging himself in his hotel room. He had been suffering from back pain the last few years of his life and was recently divorced from his wife.[1]
See also
References
- Johnny Niggeling at the SABR Baseball Biography Project, by Joan M. Thomas, Retrieved January 24, 2020.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Johnny Niggeling at Find a Grave
