Major League Baseball Player. A star pitcher for the Louisville Grays, he was banished from organized baseball for accepting money to throw games during the tight 1877 National League pennant race. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound right-hander made his debut in 1876 by winning 30 and losing a league-high 35 with a 1.56 earned run average. He led the league with 66 complete games, 68 starts, 622 innings pitched and 122 strikeouts. He also hit .315 with 94 hits in 298 at-bats. The following season he was 35-25 with a 2.25 ERA and completed all of his 61 starts while working 559 innings. But there were suspicions after the Grays' sudden collapse on a East Coast trip that put them seven games behind Boston. The wife of infielder George Hall came forward and told club president C.C. Chase that her husband, Devlin, shortstop Bill Carver and utility player Al Nichols each received $100 from gamblers for throwing all the games against Hartford. Chase immediately suspended the players and referred the matter to NL president William A. Hulbert. When the NL met on December 4, 1877, the quartet was banished for life. Devlin made numerous pleas for reinstatement but was denied each time. He eventually returned to Philadelphia and became a policeman there. Cause of death: tuberculosis. (Bio by: Ron Coons)
Major League Baseball Player. A star pitcher for the Louisville Grays, he was banished from organized baseball for accepting money to throw games during the tight 1877 National League pennant race. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound right-hander made his debut in 1876 by winning 30 and losing a league-high 35 with a 1.56 earned run average. He led the league with 66 complete games, 68 starts, 622 innings pitched and 122 strikeouts. He also hit .315 with 94 hits in 298 at-bats. The following season he was 35-25 with a 2.25 ERA and completed all of his 61 starts while working 559 innings. But there were suspicions after the Grays' sudden collapse on a East Coast trip that put them seven games behind Boston. The wife of infielder George Hall came forward and told club president C.C. Chase that her husband, Devlin, shortstop Bill Carver and utility player Al Nichols each received $100 from gamblers for throwing all the games against Hartford. Chase immediately suspended the players and referred the matter to NL president William A. Hulbert. When the NL met on December 4, 1877, the quartet was banished for life. Devlin made numerous pleas for reinstatement but was denied each time. He eventually returned to Philadelphia and became a policeman there. Cause of death: tuberculosis. (Bio by: Ron Coons)
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