Jesse Haines Jesse Joseph Haines, (July 22, 1893 - August 5, 1978) born in Clayton, Ohio, was a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher and knuckleballer. He played briefly in 1918 and then from 1920 to 1937. Haines saw brief Major League action in 1918 with the Cincinnati Reds but became a fixture in the St. Louis Cardinals starting rotation two years later, in 1920. Despite a miserable 13-20 record, he pitched 301 2/3 innings, the highest output of his career, and recorded a 2.98 ERA.
Haines's luck changed over subsequent seasons. Playing until 1937, at the age of 43, he won 20 games or more three times for the Cardinals and won two World Series championships (in 1926 and 1934). He retired with a 210-158 record, 3.64 ERA and 3208 2/3 innings pitched.
Haines threw a no-hitter on July 17, 1924 against the Boston Braves.
Haines was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970. However, he is one of the more controversial players in the Hall of Fame, with many attributing his election to the presence of cronies on the Veterans' Committee rather than his baseball achievements. Most players with similar statistics to Haines do not have much of a chance of being elected to the Hall of Fame.
