Youngest & Oldest 300 Game Winners
Only Twenty-three Major League Pitchers Have Reached This Record
Jun 15, 2008
In a time when pitching philosophy is different from the past, the 300 game winner is a dying breed. Randy Johnson, who won his 300th in June, 2009, may be the last one.
In honor of what may be a bygone era, here are a few of those players who reached that milestone.
The First to Reach 300
- James “Pud” Galvin reached 300 wins when he led the Pittsburgh Alleghenys (now Pirates) to a 5-4 win over the Indianapolis Hoosiers on September 4, 1888. Galvin pitched a total of 15 years in the majors, mostly in the National League, and won a total of 364 games. Reflective of a by-gone era, Glavin started 75 games in 1883 and 72 the following year. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1965.
Youngest 300 Game Winner
- At the age of 30, Charles “Kid” Nichols of the Boston Beaneaters (later the Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves) reached 300 when he beat the Chicago Orphans (now Cubs) 5-4 on July 7, 1900. In his first ten major league seasons, Nichols won 30 or more games seven times and had a career total of 361. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1945.
The Oldest to Reach 300 wins
- That distinction goes to Phil Niekro, age 46, who took the most difficult path to that magic number. At the age of 31, the knuckleball right-hander had 31 career victories and, at 40, had 197. Then, from 1979 until his retirement in 1987, he won 121 for a career total of 318. Niekro’s 300th came on October 10, 1985, when, playing for the Yankees, he pitched a complete game shutout over the Toronto Blue Jays. He made the Hall of Fame in 1997.
Other Notable Achievements
- Eddie Plank (1901-17, 326 wins) was the first left-hander to reach 300. He did it in 1915 while pitching for the St. Louis Terriers in the short-lived Federal League. Only six lefties have reached 300: Plank, Robert “Lefty” Grove, Steve Carlton, Warren Spahn, Tom Glavine, and Randy Johnson. Johnson is the last to win 300 and is still active.
- John Clarkson (1882-94, 328 wins) and Christy Mathewson (1900-16, 373 wins) are the only two pitchers to reach the three-hundred wins milestone before they appeared in five-hundred games.
- Only Cy Young (1890-1911, 511 wins) and Walter “Big Train” Johnson (1907-1927, 417 wins) have been 400 game winners. The next two with the highest totals are Walter Johnson and Grover Alexander, each with 373 wins.
For a complete list of 300 game winners see Baseball Almanac.
Additional articles on major league pitchers: Youngest and Oldest Pitchers, No-Hit Pitchers: and, Youngest and Oldest 20-Game Winners.
Sources: Baseball Reference and Baseball Almanac.
The copyright of the article Youngest & Oldest 300 Game Winners in Major League Baseball is owned by John K. Davis. Permission to republish Youngest & Oldest 300 Game Winners in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
