Russ Ford


Russell William Ford was a Major League Baseball pitcher during the dead-ball era of the early 1900s.

Emery Ball

Ford is best known as the creator of the "emery" or "scuff" ball, a pitch that was thrown with a ball that had been scuffed with a piece of emery. Ford came across the "scuff ball" by accident when playing for the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association in 1908. When pitching under a grandstand due to rain, Ford accidentally threw a ball into a wooden upright, marking the surface. Ford threw another pitch with the damaged ball, and noticed how it curved more than previous pitches.
Ford won 26 games in his rookie season of, becoming only the third player in major league history to win 20 games and strike out at least 200 batters in his first season.
His pitch selection included the famed scuff/emery ball, a spitball, fastball, and knuckle ball.

Hall of Fame

Ford was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 and into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 2002.

Brother

Russ' brother, Gene Ford, also played in the major leagues. Gene pitched in seven games for the Detroit Tigers in 1905.