Philadelphia Athletics: 1926-1930
On June 15, 1926, the Red Sox traded Ehmke and Tom Jenkins to the Philadelphia Athletics for Fred Heimach, Slim Harriss, and Baby Doll Jacobson. The change of scene did wonders for Ehmke. After going 3-10 in the first half of 1926 with the last place Red Sox, Ehmke went 12-4 in the second half of the season with Hall of Famer Mickey Cochrane catching and A's slugger, Al Simmons, hitting .341 behind him. Though the frequency of his starts diminished after 1927, Ehmke had a winning record for the Athletics in four consecutive seasons from 1926-1929.
The Athletics won the American League pennant in 1929, and Ehmke was the surprise starter in Game 1 of the 1929 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. Ehmke had started only 8 games the entire season, but Connie Mack correctly concluded that Ehmke's sidearm style and his mix of control and slow pitches would keep the predominantly right-handed Cubs off balance. When it became obvious that the Cubs would win the pennant, Mack gave Ehmke time off near the end of the season to personally scout the Cubs for a week. In Game 1, Ehmke pitched a complete game and struck out a then-World Series record 13 batters in a 3-1 win over Chicago. At the time, Ehmke also set a record for lowest win total during the regular season by a World Series game 1 starter. Ehmke was 7-2 during the regular season. This record would stand until 2006 when St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Anthony Reyes started game 1 of the 2006 World Series after having gone 5-8 during the regular season. Ehmke also started the final game of the 1929 World Series, holding the Cubs scoreless in the first two innings, but giving up 2 runs with 2 outs in the 3rd. The A's came from behind to win the game and the World Series.
Howard Ehmke retired from Major League Baseball after the 1930 season.
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