259 – Sam Jones.

'Toothpick' Sam Jones pitched two years with the Cubs, 1955 and 1956. Both years he led the National League in both strikeouts and walks. In 1955. He also led the league in losses with 20. In 1956 he won, 9 games for the Cubs while losing 14. His league-leading strikeout total was 178, and he walked 115. His ERA was 3.91. At the end of the season . He was traded to the Cardinals as part of an eight player deal. Going to the Cardinals with him were Jim Davis (the subject of my previous post), Hobie Landrith and Eddie Miksis in exchange for Wally Lammers (minors), Jackie Collum, Ray Katt and Tom Poholsky. Sam continued pitching until 1964. His best years were with the San Francisco Giants from 1959 to 1961. He was treated for neck cancer during the 1962 season, and he succumbed to the disease in 1971. Last year, Hank Aaron appeared on the David Letterman show and talked about Sam. I found a few other articles about Sam. One talking about his curve ball, one about his days in the Negro Leagues, and three other articles that discussed his career which you can read here, here, and here.