Because of veteran Jack Coombs‘s season-long illness, Connie Mack was forced to rush young pitchers into the breech in 1913. Twenty-year-old Joe Bush came through with a 14-6 mark to help the A’s to the pennant, then added a five-hit win in the WS. Although plagued by wildness, the durable youngster continued to pitch well in the next few years, but Mack sold off most of his hitting stars and Bush’s record slumped. In 1916 he pitched a no-hitter but led the AL in losses (24). Traded to the Red Sox in 1918, he helped them to a wartime pennant. In 1921, when he found his curve would no longer break, he developed a fork ball, then an almost unknown pitch. Traded to the Yankees for 1922, he had his best record, 26-7, for an AL-high .788 winning percentage.
Bush was a good hitter (.253 BA) and was often used as a pinch hitter. He played a season as an outfielder in the Pacific Coast League after leaving the majors.
