Joe Sewell

Joseph Wheeler Sewell (October 9, 1898 – March 6, 1990) was an American professional baseball infielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees from 1920 to 1933. Born in Titus, Alabama, Sewell attended Wetumpka High School in Wetumpka, Alabama, and went on to the University of Alabama, where he lettered in football in 1917, 1918, and 1919 and led the school baseball team to four conference titles.

Sewell began his professional career in 1920 with the minor league New Orleans Pelicans, playing a partial season before being called up to the major leagues. He made his debut mid-season in 1920 with the World Series champion Cleveland Indians, shortly after shortstop Ray Chapman was killed by a pitch from the Yankees. He remained with Cleveland through 1930 before finishing his career with the Yankees in 1933.

Over his career Sewell was a member of two World Series-winning teams. He holds the record for the lowest career strikeout rate in major league history, striking out on average only once every 73 plate appearances, and the record for the most consecutive games without a strikeout, at 115.

Sewell was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.