Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

From 1951-53, Thomas Cheney was a standout player for the ABAC baseball team. The 1952 team rolled up a 7-1 record in league play and won the 1952 state title. Major league baseball took note of the righthander from Morgan, Ga., and he was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1957, the Cardinals called him up to the big leagues where he made his debut on April 21, 1957. He pitched in four games during his first year and started three of them. He then served one year in the military in 1958. Cheney returned to the Cardinals in 1959 but was traded in the off season to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had a 2-2 record with the Pirates in 1960, a year in which Pittsburgh advanced to the World Series against the New York Yankees. Cheney served as relief pitcher in the Series, giving up four hits and two earned runs while walking only one batter and striking out six. The Pirates beat the Yankees for the crown in dramatic fashion when Bill Mazeroski hit a walk-off homer in the ninth inning of the seventh game. Cheney was traded to the Washington Senators on June 29, 1961. His day in history was just ahead. On Sept. 12, 1962, Cheney set the record for striking out the most batters in a single game when he fanned 21 batters in a 16-inning 2-1 Senators’ victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He had 13 strikeouts through nine innings and told Senators’ Manager Mickey Vernon he didn’t want to come out. Near the end of the game, Cheney threw eight straight hitless innings. On his 228th pitch, pinch hitter Dick Williams watched a called third strike, and Cheney’s marathon day was over. Cheney might have had his best year of his eight-year career in 1963 with a 2.71 ERA, seven complete games, and four shutouts. He had an 8-9 record when he suffered an elbow injury that limited his ability for the rest of his career.