Al Smith

Smith was most famous as one of the two Cleveland pitchers (with Jim Bagby, Jr.) who stopped Joe DiMaggio‘s 56-game hitting streak in 1940. Earlier, he’d been a steady winner with the Giants’ pennant winners of 1936 and 1937. A sore arm in 1939 sent him back to the minors, where he developed his pitching finesse. Given a chance with the Indians in 1940, he responded with a 15-7 season. In 1943 he had his top season (17-7) and made the AL All-Star team.