Russ Ford was a great right handed pitcher who had a 99-71 record with a 2.59 E.R.A. over seven major league seasons (he started 170 games and completed 126). Ford left Brandon at age of nine and played minor pro for several years starting in 1905 with the Atlanta Crackers. Ford discovered the emery pitch in 1907 and in 1910 his record with the New York highlanders (Yankees) was 26-6. Ford struck out 20 and walked 70 with a 1.65 ERA. In 1911 Ford went 22-11 and 26 complete games with a sixth place team, and in 1913 he went 12-18 with a seventh place club. Ford refused a pay cut with New York and went to Buffalo in the Federal League (1914) where his record was 21-6 with a 1.82 ERA. Canadian baseball historian, William Humber in his book, Diamonds of the North, calls Ford “Manitoba`s greatest baseball star.”
