Dazzy Vance ✝

Charles Arthur "Dazzy" Vance (March 4, 1891 – February 16, 1961) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a pitcher for five different franchises in Major League Baseball (MLB) in a career that spanned twenty years. Known for his impressive fastball, Vance was the only pitcher to lead the National League in strikeouts seven consecutive seasons. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955.\n', ' Born in Orient, Iowa, Vance spent most of his childhood in Nebraska. He played semipro baseball there, then signed on with a minor league baseball team out of Red Cloud, Nebraska, a member of the Nebraska State League, in 1912. After pitching for two other Nebraska State League teams in 1913 and 1914, Vance made a brief major league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1915 and appeared with the New York Yankees that year as well. However, it took several years before he established himself as a major league player.\n', ' Vance was discovered to have an arm injury in 1916 and was given medical treatment. He continued to work on his pitching in the minor leagues, appearing with teams in Columbus, Ohio; Toledo, Ohio; Memphis, Tennessee; Rochester, New York; and Sacramento, California. He only reappeared in the major leagues once for the Yankees, pitching two games in 1918. Vance said that he was suddenly able to throw hard again in 1921 while pitching for the New Orleans Pelicans of the Southern Association: he struck out 163 batters and finished the season with a 21-11 win-loss record. The Pelicans sold his contract to the Brooklyn Robins in 1922. The Robins wanted to acquire catcher Hank DeBerry, but the Pelicans refused to complete the deal unless Vance was included in the transaction.\n', '