# NL Pitchers from the "Greatest Generation" **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 17, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237 "2011-05-17T19:40:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/1 "2011-05-17T19:40:17Z")
Whenever I think about the greatest players of that era, I can never think of an NL pitcher, so who am I forgetting about? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/2 "2011-05-17T19:46:45Z")
Warren Spahn ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/3 "2011-05-17T19:55:55Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Warren Spahn :smack: OF Course! Only the guy who retired as the winningest live-ball era pitcher! ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/4 "2011-05-17T20:07:40Z")
Which leads to…Johnny Sain. Spahn and Sain and pray for rain. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/5 "2011-05-17T20:17:24Z")
Robin Roberts, 20 game winner 6 seasons in a row. Dizzy Dean too early for your time period? ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/6 "2011-05-17T20:24:08Z")
“Greatest Generation”-WWII-era players ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/7 "2011-05-17T20:27:33Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Which leads to…Johnny Sain. > > Spahn and Sain and pray for rain. Fun fact: Sain’s birth name was Zornado, but he changed it because he was tired of meteorologically based puns. If only he had thought his plan through! ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/8 "2011-05-17T20:35:53Z")
Bob Feller’s your man. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/9 "2011-05-17T20:47:38Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Bob Feller’s your man. Cleveland is not in the National League. ---
**Author:** ![goldmund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a4c791/32.png) [@goldmund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goldmund)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/10 "2011-05-17T22:16:29Z")
Don Newcombe? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/11 "2011-05-17T22:25:09Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Fun fact: Sain’s birth name was Zornado, but he changed it because he was tired of meteorologically based puns. If only he had thought his plan through! [fun fact](http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&pid=12403&bid=1241)? > [@](#): > > He was born John Franklin Sain in the tiny town of Havana, Arkansas (population 392 in the 2000 Census), on September 25, 1917, to Eva and John Sain. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/12 "2011-05-18T00:01:20Z")
Warren Spahn Robin Roberts Carl Hubbell Johnny Sain Sal Maglie ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/13 "2011-05-18T03:14:25Z")
A few other good ones, though probably not of the same caliber as those already mentioned: [Bucky Walters](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/waltebu01.shtml) [Rip Sewell](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sewelri01.shtml) [Preacher Roe](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/roepr01.shtml) [Dutch Leonard](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leonadu02.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/14 "2011-05-18T03:22:53Z")
No one would ever think of Harry Brecheen. Pitched for the Cardinals back in the 40’s. Great in his day. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/15 "2011-05-18T03:28:29Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > No one would ever think of Harry Brecheen. Pitched for the Cardinals back in the 40’s. Great in his day. I actually considered including [Brecheen](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brechha01.shtml) in my list in the prior post (I was going through WARP for pitchers, year-by-year for the 1940s, on [Baseball-Reference.com](http://Baseball-Reference.com)). He only had 133 career wins, which is what misled me at first. He had a sub-3.00 ERA, and finished in the top 20 in MVP voting 3 times. Not a long career, but a very good run from '44 to '48 or '49. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/16 "2011-05-18T03:47:31Z")
[Mort Cooper](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/coopemo01.shtml). The only NL pitcher other than Bucky Walters to win the NL MVP between '39 & '45. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nl-pitchers-from-the-greatest-generation/582237/17 "2011-05-18T23:57:45Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > [fun fact](http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&pid=12403&bid=1241)? I think maybe you’re being whooshed here. I mean…Zornado?