Leonard Leslie "King" Cole (April 15, 1886 in Toledo, Iowa – January 6, 1916) was a baseball player in the early twentieth century. He started his baseball career as a pitcher with the Chicago Cubs in 1909. In 1910, he led the National League with a record of 20–4 and helped win a National League Pennant for the Cubs. His 20–4 record is the best winning percentage (.866) for a Cub pitcher in the twentieth century. Cole was traded to Pittsburgh, and then to the New York Yankees. On October 2, 1914, Cole gave up a double to Babe Ruth—Ruth's first hit in the major leagues.
In 1915, Cole was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and died shortly after the end of the 1915 season.
Ring Lardner wrote about Cole in articles for The Sporting News. Lardner compiled the stories into the Alibi Ike stories, making Cole a baseball immortal.
Famous quotes containing the words king and/or cole:
“The ingrained idea that, because there is no king and they despise titles, the Americans are a free people is pathetically untrue.... There is a perpetual interference with personal liberty over there that would not be tolerated in England for a week.”
—Margot Asquith (1864–1945)
“Between you and me, sir, I’ll have to see him before I’ll believe he’s invisible.”
—Lester Cole (1904–1985)