Gene Bearden

Henry Eugene "Gene" Bearden (September 5, 1920 – March 18, 2004) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, and Chicago White Sox. Bearden was a knuckleball pitcher, although he also threw a fastball, a slider, a curveball, and an occasional screwball.

Bearden was born on September 5, 1920 in Lexa, Arkansas. Growing up, he learned to play baseball on Tennessee sandlots; Lou Gehrig was his baseball idol. His rookie season in 1948 was rated in 2008 as the top overall rookie season of any athlete of a Cleveland professional sports franchise in The Great Book of Cleveland Sports Lists.

Bearden died in Alexander City, Alabama, at 83 years of age.