Biography

Ellsworth was born in Lusk, Wyoming and graduated from Fresno High School in Fresno, California. Ellsworth batted and threw left-handed. He is the father of Steve Ellsworth. Ellsworth attended Fresno High School in California, alongside fellow pitcher Jim Maloney. In a 13-season career, Ellsworth posted a 115-137 record with 1140 strikeouts and a 3.72 ERA in 2155.2 innings.

Ellsworth made his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs in 1958. His most productive season came in 1963, when he won 22 games (after losing 20 in 1962), with a 2.11 ERA. Ellsworth set the record for largest ERA improvement in consecutive seasons of at least 150 innings pitched when he lowered his ERA from 5.09 in 1962 to 2.11 in 1963, improving his ERA by 2.98 runs per game. He won the NL Player of the Month award in May with a 4-1 record, 1.29 ERA, and only 13 SO.

A popular player at Wrigley Field, Ellsworth made the National League All-Star team in 1964. His career faded after that, except for one year with the Boston Red Sox, when he was 16-7 with an ERA of 3.03. He retired in 1971 after playing for the Phillies, Red Sox, Indians and Brewers.

In his 1966 Topps baseball card, No. 447 that year, was issued for Ellsworth, with his playing statistics and a brief biographical sketch. However, the photo on the card was not of Ellsworth—it was of Ken Hubbs, the Cubs' star infielder who had died about two years before.

Ellsworth won 84 games, the most by a Cub pitcher in the 1960s. He also led the team in starts for the 60s with 235, complete games with 71 and innings pitched with 1,611. He also led the Cubs in strikeouts three years in a row, with a high of 185 in 1963. The hurler spent much of the 1969 and 1970 seasons with the Indians. His time with Cleveland is recounted in Doug Kurkul's book Portrait of a Franchise: An Intimate Look at Cleveland Indians Baseball During the Rockin' Sixties.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]