Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003 | 9:45 a.m.
When Chicago pitcher Kerry Wood drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the sixth inning of Game 1 of the National League division series Tuesday he would go on to become the first Cubs hurler in 95 years to knock in the winning run in a post-season game.
That distinction had been held by Orval Overall, who in 1908 not only got a game-winning RBI but also won two World Series games, including the clincher of what would be the Cubs' last World Series championship.
While thousands of Las Vegans witnessed Wood's sparkling performance in Atlanta on KVVU Channel 5 (Fox) late Tuesday, Overall's great, great nephew, KVVU news anchorman John Overall missed the shattering of his ancestor's milestone.
"I was busy getting ready for work by watching other newscasts in my office and getting my notes prepared," Overall said, noting that the news crew had to be ready to go on the air after the game. "While Orval may have lost that record, he still has another record that may never be broken."
John Overall was referring to a unique World Series mark that Orval Overall set in Game 5 of the 1908 World Series against the Detroit Tigers, when he struck out four men in a single inning -- the first.
A third strike got away from the Cubs catcher and the Detroit batter made it safely to first base. Undaunted, Overall would go on to strike out the other three batters he faced in that inning and went on to hurl a three-hit shutout. Ironically, one of Wood's 11 strikeouts Tuesday was on a wild pitch on strike three, allowing a Braves hitter to reach first.
"Kerry is the kind of pitcher who can match Orval's World Series four strikeouts in an inning record," said John Overall, who played Little League in his native Southern California. "Kerry throws a lot of strikeouts and a number of his third strikes are difficult for a catcher to handle." For Wood to have a chance at that feat, the Cubs will have to get to the World Series, something they have not done since 1945 when they lost to the Tigers in seven games.
John first learned about Orval while reading a book on Babe Ruth that mentioned Orval had pitched to the Bambino. John asked his late father Jack Overall if they were related, and Jack told him about his great, great uncle's feats that included winning 108 games in a seven-season career.
"Overall is a Dutch name, and I've been told everyone who has that name is somehow related," John said. "Actress Park Overall (Nurse Laverne Todd on the 1988-95 NBC sitcom "Empty Nest") is a distant cousin of mine."
Orval Overall's brilliant career with the Cincinnati Reds and Cubs included a lifetime 2.23 ERA, a 3-1 World Series record and a National League-leading nine shutouts and 205 strikeouts during his 20-win 1909 season, where he posted a 1.42 ERA. (Wood led the National League in strikeouts this year.)
Orval, a right-hander, also tied the legendary Christy Mathewson with a league-leading eight shutouts in 1907, when Overall went a career best 23-7 with a 1.70 ERA. Lifetime, he struckout 935 and walked 551.
"Orval was a member of perhaps the greatest pitching staff in baseball history that included Mordecai 'Three Finger' Brown," Overall said. "One season, Orval had the worst ERA of the Cubs' starting pitchers -- and not one of them had an ERA over 2."
Standing 6-2, 214 pounds in his prime, the switch-hitting Overall, like Wood, was no slouch with a bat. He had 94 hits, including two home runs and six triples, knocked in 46, scored 39 times and had a lifetime batting average of .179.
After sustaining arm problems in 1910, Overal retired. But he attempted a comeback in 1913, going 4-5 with a 3.31 ERA and retired again.
"When he retired the first time, Orval moved to Fresno to start a business, but for some reason I do not know, he decided to try to make a comeback," John said. "I had done some research on him, but after he retired from baseball the second time, I do not know what Orval did for the rest of his life."
Orval Overall died on July 14, 1947, in Fresno at age 66.
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