William Dayton “Pol” Perritt was born on this date in 1891… Perritt was plucked out of the Cotton States League by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1912 and by 1914 was among the regulars in the Cardinal rotation. Using the Federal League to extract a raise out of his team, Perritt actually got his raise from the New York Giants, which parted with cash and other players to acquire the young pitcher. Perritt pitched well for John McGraw, winning 18 games twice, and going 17 – 7 with the 1917 team that lost to the Chicago White Sox in the World Series.
Perritt’s greatest fame came not from any record, but rather from his accusing Hal Chase of trying to extract information from him to help gamblers place a bet in a double header in late 1918. Chase was called before a judge to explain his actions and somehow was found innocent of wrongdoing – and even more amazingly, was brought on to the Giants as Perritt’s teammate the next season.
Perritt injured his arm in the 1919 season, tried to pitch his way back but was sold to Detroit in 1921. That didn’t work out either – he found his way back to the minors for short stints in San Antonio and Minneapolis. A native of Arcadia, Louisiana, Perritt returned to his home state, living in Shreveport until his death in 1947.
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