JEFF TESREU

Though his professional career was short, Charles "Big Jeff" Tesreau was more successful than any pitcher to ever emerge from Southeast Missouri.

Reared on a farm near Fredericktown, Tesreau is the only player from the region to throw a no-hitter in the big leagues. And he was the first rookie in the history of the major leagues to accomplish that feat.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound farm boy from Fredericktown and later a miner in Perryville, took baseball by storm in 1912 when he joined the professional ranks with the New York Giants.

The no-hitter was the highlight of his career, though the burly right-hander didn't even know he had thrown one until after the game. Philadelphia's official scorer changed the only hit to an error after the contest.

That year, Tesreau -- also known as the Ozark Bear -- led the National League with a 1.96 earned run average. He went 17-7 in 28 games and threw three shutouts.

He was credited with leading the Giants to the World Series that year as he was the most consistent hurler on a staff that consisted of Rube Marquard and Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson.

New York lost the World Series that year to the Boston Red Sox as Tesreau lost two of the three games he pitched. The Giants won 103 games that year.

In all, Tesreau played in three World Series (1912, 1913 and 1917), ending up with a 1-3 record and a 3.65 ERA.

Tesreau, who featured an overpowering fastball and a "spitball", was a big-league pitcher for just seven seasons, though his career numbers are phenomenal compared to today's standards. Tesreau went 119-72 (.623 winning percentage) over the course of his career. His career earned run average was 2.43. He is sixth on the Giants' all-time list in shutouts, seventh in complete games (one less than Gaylord Perry) and 10th in wins.

The most wins Tesreau collected in one season came in 1914 when he posted a 26-10 record with a 2.37 ERA. In 1913, he was also a 20-game winner, going 22-13 with a 2.17 ERA.

Tesreau's production dropped off severely from 1917 to 1918. In 1918 season, he pitched just 61 innings in nine games, going 4-4 with a 2.32 ERA. It was the only season he won less than 13 games.

It was reported that Tesreau -- who was said to be humorous and easy-going -- ended his career because of a bitter relationship with his manager, John McGraw.

According to an article published in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine in 1946, Tesreau wouldn't play for McGraw, even though McGraw wanted him to come back.

"I'll never play for you," Tesreau told McGraw prior to the 1919 season. "And as I'm no good to you this way, I want to be traded or sold, or I'll buy my own release."

It was a futile attempt.

Tesreau ended up quitting the major leagues and joining the Steel League, which lasted just one year.

After his playing days, Tesreau became a baseball coach at Dartmouth College.

Tesreau, who was born in 1889, passed away in 1946 after suffering a stroke.

Charles Monroe "Big Jeff" Tesreau

YEAR W L Pct. ERA G GS CG IP H BB SO ShO

1912 17 7 .708 1.96 36 28 19 243 177 106 119 3

1913 22 13 .629 2.17 41 38 17 282 222 119 167 1

1914 26 10 .722 2.37 42 40 26 322.1 238 128 189 8

1915 19 16 .543 2.29 43 38 24 306 235 75 176 8

1916 18 14 .563 2.92 40 32 23 268.1 249 65 113 5

1917 13 8 .619 3.09 33 20 11 183.2 168 58 85 1

1918 4 4 .500 2.32 12 9 3 73.2 61 21 31 1

TOTALS

7 yrs. 119 72 .623 2.43 247 205 123 1,679 1,350 572 880 27

6-foot-2 1/2, 218 pounds

Born Mar. 5, 1989 (Silver Mine, Mo.), died Sept. 24, 1946 (Hanover, N.H.)

Played in three World Series (1912, 1913, 1917), going 1-3 in four games pitched with a 3.62 ERA. Started three games in the 1912 World Series, losing two.

Source: The Baseball Encyclopedia