Now Pitching from Homer, Nebraska, Irv Higginbotham

Irving Clinton Higginbotham (1882–1959), was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1906 to 1909. He would play for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs.  He played from August 11th, 1906 and nine years in the minor leagues.  He had an accumulated record of 10 wins and 14 losses, as a major league pitcher.

These statistics and only three years in the majors sounds like a something less than notable.  But in the early days of professional baseball, an average player could make a better living in the minor leagues than in the major leagues.  In 1913, he pitched a no hit, no run game, striking out 13, and only allowed 2 men to get on first base for the Portland Beavers in the Pacific Coast League.

Higginbotham was born on April 26th, 1882, some say 1881 in Blyburg, Nebraska, ghost town near Homer, Nebraska.  When he moved to the city, he told everyone that he was from Omaha, because people would know where he was from.

After his playing days, he made his way to the state of Washington.  He registered for the draft in Kirkland, Washington.  He spent much of his life as a professional painter, joining the local painter’s union.

Information gleaned from:

Baseball Reference https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/higgiir01.shtml

Military • United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVJT-FRZ1

Obituary for Irv Higginbotham https://web.archive.org/web/20160304205942/http://thedeadballera.com/Obits/Obits_H/Higginbotham.Irv.Obit.html

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