Major League Baseball Player. He played Major League baseball as a pitcher for 10 seasons (1942, 1946 to 1953, 1955) with the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees and the Kansas City Athletics. Nicknamed “The Whip” for his tall, gangling appearance and his sidearm delivery, he appeared very briefly in 1942 before his rookie campaign in 1946. He struggled through much of that initial season, finishing with a 9-13 record. However, six of his 9 wins were Shutouts (good enough to led the NL in that category). He was also named to the NL All-Star Team, pitching an inning in the 12-0 AL rout. It would be the first of 6 consecutive All-Star selections, during which he sent a record (since tied) for pitching in 6 consecutive Mid-Summer Classics. He would be the starting NL pitcher the 1947 Game, and would pitch the last inning of the the 14-inning 1950 Game, gaining the Win). His best year came in 1947, when he led the NL in Wins with 22, losing only 8, and topping all NL pitcher in Strikeouts with 193. Arm troubles plagued him the next two years, with him winning only 7 and 9 games respectively, but he returned to form in 1950 an 1951, winning 17 and 16 Games. Towards the end of the 1952 season he was sent to the AL leading New York Yankees, who would capture with 4th consecutive American League Pennant. In the 1952 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, Ewell Blackwell started Game 5 for the Yanks, gaining a no-decision in a 6-5 Dodgers win (the Yankees defeated Brooklyn in the Series 4 Games to 3). After one more year his arm troubles forced him into retirement (although he attempted a brief comeback with the A’s in 1955). Two of his greatest achievements happened in his career year of 1947. On June 18th he pitched a 6-0 no-hit game in Cincinnati’s Crosley Field, and almost pitched another one in his next start against the Dodgers on June 22nd, losing a second no-hit bid with one out in the 9th Inning (to date he is the only pitcher to come that close to Johnny Vandeer Meer’s record). His other feat was the extension of a personal winning streak, started in 1946, that went to 16 straight wins. His career totals were 82 Wins-78 Losses, 236 Games Pitched, 839 Strikeouts and a career 3.30 ERA.