Alexander was born in Elba, Nebraska, in the first term of President Grover Cleveland and was one of thirteen children. He played semi-professional baseball in his youth, signing his first professional contract at age 20 in 1907 for $50 per month. In 1909 he played for the Galesburg Boosters in the Class D Illinois–Missouri League and went 15-8 that year. His career was almost ended when he was struck by a thrown ball while baserunning. Although this ended his 1909 season, he recovered by 1910 to become a star pitcher again, finishing with a 29-11 record for the Syracuse Stars in the Class B New York State League, before being sold to the Philadelphia Phillies for $750.\n', '

Alexander made his Philadelphia debut during the pre-season 1911 City Series, pitching five innings of no-hit, no-run baseball against the Athletics. He made his official Major League debut on April 15. He was joined on the Phillies that year by catcher Bill Killefer, who went on to become Alexander\'s favorite receiver, catching 250 of his games.\n', '

In his rookie year, Alexander led the league with 28 wins (a modern-day rookie record), 31 complete games, 367 innings pitched, and seven shutouts, while finishing second in strikeouts and fourth in ERA. From 1912 to 1921, Alexander led the league in ERA five times (1915–17, 1919, and 1920), wins five times (1914–17, 1920), innings six times (1912, 1914–17, 1920), strikeouts six times (1912, 1914–1917, 1920), complete games five times (1914–1917, 1920), and shutouts five times (1915, 1916 [a single-season record 16], 1917, 1919, 1921). He won pitching\'s Triple Crown in 1915, 1916, and 1920, and is sometimes credited with a fourth in 1917. In 1915, he was instrumental in leading the Phillies to their first pennant, and he pitched a record five one-hitters. Along the way Alexander began to have problems with alcohol, a struggle that would plague him the rest of his life. In 1915, he won his first World Series game (the opening game of that series), for the Phillies. It would be 65 years before the Phillies won another World Series game.\n', '

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