| Chautauqua County, New York |
| Chautauqua County, New York |
Hugh Bedient in 1912 in a Boston Red Sox uniform.
Falconer's Hugh Bedient pitched for the Boston Red Sox from 1912-14 and compiled a 58-53 record with a 3.08 ERA. His rookie year of 1912 was Bedient's best when he compiled an 20-9 record and 2.92 ERA. That same season he faced Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants in the third game of the World Series and defeated him 3-2 on a three-hitter. He also faced Mathewson in the seventh game and was taken out after seven innings with the score tied 1-1. Boston went on to win the game in 10 innings 3-2.
He spent the 1914-15 seasons with Buffalo of the Federal League and finished his career with Toledo of the International League. The New York Yankees offered him a contract for the 1918 season, but Bedient was drafted and after World War I his career was over.
Bedient had been a pitching star for Falconer High School and then for an amateur team. He once struck out 42 batters in 23 innings against Corry. That performance led to 19 offers from pro teams.
The Society of Baseball Research polled all of its members to try and fill the void in the selections made by the Sporting News and the BBWAAA in naming the Rookies of the Year since none were selected between 1900-1948. Hugh Bedient was selected by that group of baseball historians as the unofficial 1912 American League Rookie of the Year.
Hugh Bedient died July 21, 1965 at the age of 75. He was inducted into the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.
Falconer high school baseball team is from around 1907 or 1908. Hugh Bedient is
in the center of the second row.
Links
Baseball Almanac