Red Ruffing

Charles Herbert "Red" Ruffing (May 3, 1905 – February 17, 1986) was an American professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball from 1924 through 1947. He played for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Chicago White Sox, and is most remembered for his years with the successful Yankees teams of the 1930s and 1940s.

Ruffing dropped out of school as a child to work in a coal mine in his native Illinois, playing for the mine's company baseball team as an outfielder and first baseman. After losing four toes from his left foot in a mining accident, he became unable to run in the field and switched to pitching. He played minor league baseball in 1923 and 1924 before making his MLB debut with the Red Sox.

After struggling in Boston, where he compiled a 39–96 win–loss record, the Red Sox traded Ruffing to the Yankees. There he found success, pitching as the Yankees' ace through 1946. Following a single season with the White Sox, he retired from pitching to work in coaching, serving as a bullpen coach for the White Sox and a pitching coach for the New York Mets.

Ruffing was a member of six World Series championship teams and was elected to the Hall of Fame.