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George Cuppy
Because of his dark complexion, he was called Nig. For the same reason, some sportswriters referred to him as the Cuban Warrior or the Cuban Hero. But Nig Cuppy was not African-American or Cuban. He was a first-generation American, son of immigrants from Bavaria. On April 16, 1892, the 22-year-old Cuppy made his major-league debut with the National League Cleveland Spiders. He known as a slow pitcher, not only for the number of off-speed pitches he threw, but also because of the time he took between deliveries, which many hitters found frustrating. Newspapers of the day took delight in describing Cuppy’s actions in the pitcher’s box. One reporter wrote, “It is really amusing to those in the stands to witness the maneuvers of this little twirler with the swarthy complexion and pearly teeth. He fondles the ball, rubs it on the back of his neck, grins at the batsman, and then stops to adjust his cap and hitch up his trousers. He does all this several more times before he delivers the ball to the batsman.”
During his first six seasons in the majors, Cuppy had five 20-win seasons and 163 wins in total. (He collected 17 victories in the exception, his “poor” 1893 season.) In 1897 his arm gave out. He won only ten games that season and never came close to 20 again. During Cuppy’s tenure with Cleveland, the club consistently finished in the first division, including three seasons in second place, but they captured no pennants. He concluded his career with the Boston Americans for their debut 1901 season. After leaving the majors, Cuppy returned to Indiana, where he pitched for and managed an Elkhart semipro club in 1902. For some time, he and his former catcher Lou Criger ran a billiard parlor, appropriately called The Battery. Later he entered the retail tobacco business. - SABR
Redid the facegen.
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