Gettysburg Eddie

<p>Who is the winningest left-handed pitcher in Philadelphia baseball history? Who is the winningest left-handed pitcher in American League history? Who is third in wins all-time among left-handed starters? Who threw more shutouts than any left-handed pitcher in baseball history? Few know the answer is Edward Stewart Plank also known as "Gettysburg Eddie."<br /><br />Born in Gettysburg Pennsylvania only a dozen years after the bloody Civil War battle Eddie grew up on a farm and was a late-bloomer. By his early twenties he was a local star on the town ballteam and enrolled in the Gettysburg Academy in order to pitch for Gettysburg College. Soon after Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics in the newly-formed American League came calling and the rest is history.<br /><br />Eddie Plank was the mainstay of Connie Mack's early success from 1901 through 1914. Plank's unorthodox delivery and pinpoint control brought him consistent results. While others out-pitched him during individual seasons "Steady-Eddie" provided Mack excellence year after year while others came and went.<br /><br />Gettysburg Eddie chronicles the life of this clean-living baseball superstar who worked hard saved his money and was always the perfect gentleman. Said Mack upon hearing of Eddie's premature death in 1926 "I feel like a father must feel who has lost a son."</p>