Photos and Biography of Lefty Grove
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Lefty Grove was born as Robert Moses Groves on March 6, 1900 in the small town of Lonaconing, Maryland. His parents were John Groves and Emma Beeman. Click here to see a picture of them. Early in his major league career, his name was changed from Groves to Grove. |
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Lefty began his minor league baseball career on May 21, 1920 when he started pitching for the Martinsburg Mountaineers in Martinsburg, WV in the Blue Ridge League. He pitched in only six games for the Mountaineers, with the last being on June 25. He had a record of 3-3 with 60 strikeouts in 59 innings. |
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Lefty pitched for the Baltimore Orioles from 1920 through 1924. The Baltimore Orioles were a minor league team in the Independent League at that time. Lefty won 108 games with the Baltimore Orioles. Here is a picture of Lefty pitching in his Orioles uniform. |
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On October 2, 1924, Lefty was sold to the Philadelphia Athletics for $100,600. He played for the great manager Connie Mack. In Philadelphia, Lefty played with such greats as Ty Cobb and Jimmie Foxx. With the Athletics, Lefty played in the 1929, 1930 and 1931 World Series. |
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Here Lefty is shown preparing to throw the ball in his old Philadelphia Athletics uniform. The Athletics elephant is shown on the uniform. |
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Here's another picture of Lefty while pitching for the Philadelphia Athletics. |
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In 1929, Lefty opened "Lefty's Place" in Lonaconing. This gave people in the area a place to bowl, play pool and socialize with their Hall of Fame legend. |
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In 1931, Lefty had his greatest season. He went 31-4 that year and won the American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. To the right, Lefty is shown with the MVP trophy. This trophy is currently displayed in the library in Lonaconing, MD. |
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Lefty joined several other Major League ball players for the Tour of Japan in 1931. This is a picture of Lefty wearing the uniform of the United States. Click here to see Lefty with one of the Japanese pitchers. |
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On December 12, 1933, Lefty was traded to the Boston Red Sox. As a result of the depression, Connie Mack was forced to part ways with many of his star players. |
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To the left, Lefty is shown pitching in his Boston Red Sox uniform. In Boston, Lefty played with Jimmie Foxx (once again) and Ted Williams. |
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Lefty won his 300th game on July 25, 1941. That was the last game that he ever won. |
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Lefty was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 21, 1947. |
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Lefty was a town councilman and the Chief of Police in Lonaconing in the late 1950's. Click here to see Lefty's Lonaconing police badge. |
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Lefty died of a heart attack on May 22, 1975 in his home in Norwalk, Ohio. |
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Lefty's grave is in Frostburg Memorial Park in Frostburg, Maryland. |
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