Young and Alexander Alike Even in the End

They were born 20 years apart and died on the same date, five years apart.

The best right-handed pitchers of the early 20th century? In any survey, Cy Young and Grover Cleveland Alexander would appear on many ballots.

Alexander, who won 373 games in 20 seasons, had a 2.56 career earned-run average, including six seasons under 2.00. From 1915 through 1917, he won at least 30 games a year.

He lost one full season to World War I service, during which a shell exploded near his ear and brought on epilepsy, which brought on alcoholism.

On his greatest day in baseball, Game 7 of the 1926 World Series, he was called on to save the Series for the St. Louis Cardinals. He’d won Game 6 the day before and had celebrated all night.

The New York Yankees had the bases loaded with two out in the seventh inning, Tony Lazzeri at bat. St. Louis led, 3-2.

Alexander, 39, struck out Lazzeri, and the Cardinals won. It remains one of baseball’s great moments.

At 63, he died alone, 49 years ago today, in a rented room in St. Paul, Neb.

Denton True Young picked up the nickname “Cy” because teammates thought his fastball had the velocity of a cyclone.

From 1891 to 1904, he won 26 or more games 11 times, five times 30 or more. His career victory total, 511, has never been approached. Career ERA: 2.63.

The secret to his success was a remarkable right arm. Not once in his career did he even have a sore arm, even though he had five 400-inning seasons and went 300 16 times.

His last game, at 45, was a 1-0 loss to a Philadelphia rookie named Grover Cleveland Alexander.

He was 88 when he died 44 years ago today in Newcomerstown, Ohio.

The following year, baseball named its outstanding pitcher award the Cy Young Award.

Also on this date: In 1954, the family of 91-year-old Connie Mack sold the Philadelphia Athletics for $604,000. The buyer was Arnold Johnson, who moved the team to Kansas City. . . . In 1964, CBS announced it was buying 80% of the New York Yankees from Dan Topping and Del Webb. Price: $11.2 million. . . . In 1980, British bantamweight Johnny Owen died 45 days after being knocked out by Lupe Pintor at the Olympic Auditorium. . . . On the same day, Japanese slugger Sadaharu Oh, 40, retired after an 868-home run career.