Sidney Ross’s lone MLB appearance was for the Giants on June 27, 1918. The lefthander (batting and throwing) came on in relief of Red Causey, who was lifted after two innings. Ross was clean for two innings but walked two Boston Braves men in the fifth and John McGraw pulled him. The Giants rallied for the win and Ross, to his credit (and that of the guy who relieved Ross) wound up with a career ERA of 0.00.

He didn’t get credit for the win, though the New York Times had him as the winning pitcher. And, Baseball-Reference shows him as having earned a save. Somewhere during the Big Mac era (I don’t have the original – mine is from 1985 or thereabouts) Ross was assigned a save – even though he doesn’t have a game finished on his statistical record. This was passed down from Big Mac through Total Baseball and now has made it into the internet encyclopedias. Retrosheet.org has corrected this – so at some point this will be pushed to the data used by Baseball-Reference.com

On top of which, somewhere between 1935 and 1951, when Turkin and Thompson put out their Baseball Encyclopedia, John Sidney Ross became George Sidney Ross – which, like the statistical anomaly, certainly was accidental. Except that it stayed with his public record for years. I have a Big Mac from the 1980s; it has George, too. (To be fair, the Big Mac corrected his birth year.) I have Total Baseball (second and third editions) and it, too, has George as the first name.

In recent years, someone was digging into these things and noticed that George Sidney was wrong… The full name was corrected – only the name now associated with Ross was John Ross when it should be Sidney Ross. Anyway… The good people at SABR are working with the good people at Baseball-Reference and before long this all will be fixed. Maybe by the time you read this article.

John Sidney Ross arrived on June 28, 1892 in what used to be known as Ross Landing, California, but is now within the township of Kentfield. (There is no relation between the founding family and this Ross family.) His father Patrick, an Irish import, spent years working as a gardener. Alice (Murnine) Ross raised seven children, but two passed on before reaching adulthood. Her own parents also came to the US from Ireland and moved west from New York to California following the gold rush.

Ross went to school at St. Mary’s College, a Bay Area powerhouse in terms of developing young major league players. In 1914, he winds up getting time with the Muscatine (also Ottumwa and Galesburg) Bunnies in the Central Association, getting to play in three cities for one franchise. He repeats this for the 1915 season, though halfway through he is traded for another pitcher in Waterloo, Iowa – despite the fact that Ross would improve his record from 15 – 17 to 16 – 7. The next season, instead of returning to the Central Association, he stays in Waterloo but pitches for a semi-pro indepent team based in that city. At some point between 1916 and 1917, he decides to take his strong (if occasionally wild) left arm to Texas.

There, Ross was pitching for a pair of semi-pro teams in San Antonio when a Houston Post writer recommended Ross to the Bronchos Texas League owner. In 1917 Ross threw a no-hitter and had many other low-hit outings – and earned a suit for being a team MVP. He made good on the opportunity with San Antonio and was given a tryout. During spring training in 1918, the New York Giants faced Ross in an exhibition game. It turns out that while Ross was auditioning for the San Antonio Bronchos, he also inadvertently auditioned for the New York Giants. (We should all be so lucky. Make a note of this kids – every opportunity might also be an audition for bigger things.) When a need arose later in the season, McGraw signed Ross for the Giants. After the game, McGraw sent Ross to Newark of the International League where the lefty went 10 – 4 in half a season. So, McGraw brought Ross back for spring training the next season.

McGraw thought Ross needed more seasoning, so he was returned to Texas, again pitching for San Antonio. Ross got a quick look at Giants spring training again in 1920, but returned to San Antonio one more time. Toward the end of the 1920 season, he would make 13 appearances for the Kansas City Blues of the American Association during August and September.

At this point, nearing 30, his career wound down rather quickly. Signed by Sacramento in the PCL, Ross couldn’t put things together during spring training and was released. He found a suitor in Portland, but after losing three decisions in his eleven appearances he was let go. Ross wound up finishing the 1921 season in Jackson, Mississippi and then spent 1922 with two clubs in the Eastern League (New Haven and Albany). With that, his baseball career was over.

Ross married Florence (Wilder) Hayes, a divorcee with two sons, while living in San Antonio in 1920 where he was also working at Fort Sam Houston when not playing ball. After his baseball career ended, he and Florence wound up in New York permanently (for Sidney, at least). At just 42, he died at his Amityville, New York home of pneumonia on April 22, 1935 and is buried in Trinity Roman Catholic Cemetery there.

Notes:

1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 US Census Records
California Birth Registrations, Marin County
Texas Marriage Records
World War One Draft Registration
Baseball-Reference.com (Major League Record)
Baseball-Reference.com (Minor League Record)

“Ross in Trade for Rojas of Bluejays,” Muscatine Journal, July 12, 1915: 6. (Spelling of Rojas corrected in citation.)
I.C. To Have Strong Squad,” Waterloo Evening Courier, May 11, 1916: 12.
“Baseball Notes,” Brooklyn Standard Union, June 14, 1918: 13.
“Fillingim Crushed By Giant Batsmen,” New York Times, June 28, 1918: 12.
Frank Noel, “As the Sport Scribe Sees It,” Houston Post, June 30, 1918: 18.
“Schupp and Benton Show Encouraging Form in Game Against Giant Rookies,” New York Evening World, April 1, 1919: 18.
“Ross Blanks Buffaloes in Final San Antonio Game; Hiett is Bumped,” Houston Post, May 10, 1919: 10.
“Taylor Drops Last Game to Lockhart,” Taylor Daily Press, September 20, 1919: 4.
“Ross Released,” New York Daily News, March 13, 1920: 12.
William B Ruggles, “Johnny Mokan Takes Rank of Leading Texas League Hitter; Dutch Hoffman is Advancing,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 20, 1920: Sports, Page 1.
“Baseball Chatter,” Sacramento Bee, March 28, 1921: 12.
“Wild Heaves and Such,” Salt Lake Tribune, April 20, 1921: 12.
“Ex-Giant Hurler, John S, Ross, Loses Battle With Pneumonia,” Brooklyn Eagle, April 23, 1935: 15.