Major League Baseball Player. He played Major League Baseball as a Pitcher for 17 seasons (1903 to 1919) with the New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies. He spent the first 11 1/2 of his years playing for John McGraw’s Giants, with whom he helped to three World Series appearances. Debuting in 1903, he had his best season two years later, when he went 22-8 in helping the Giants capture the National League pennant. In the World Series that year, against Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics, he would pitch only one inning, and be the only Giants pitcher other than the great Christy Mathewson and Iron Man Joe McGinnity to appear in the Series (the Giants would take the Series four Games to one behind Mathewson’s phenomenal pitching). Over the next few seasons he would be an integral part of the Giants pitching staff, pulling both starting and relief duty. In 1911 his 11-10 record contributed to another Giants pennant, and appeared in the Giants rematch with the A’s. The A’s would avenge their 1905 loss, and take the Series 4 Games to 2. Red Ames would start the final Game 6, and take the loss as the A’s won the Series with a 13-2 victory. The next year, 1912, Red Ames would better his record of the year before, winning 11 and losing only 5 as the Giants repeated as National League champions. The results in the World Series, this time against the Boston Red Sox, were the same, as Boston won 4 Games to 1 (with one tie). Red Ames would only make one appearance, a two-inning relief stint in Game 4 (a Red Sox win). Shortly after the start of the 1913 season the Giants traded him to the Reds. In 1914 he won 15 games for Cincinnati, but lost 23 (and oddly enough saved 6 games, the most in the league). The Reds traded him to the Cardinals midway though the 1915 campaign, and he remained with St. Louis for four years. leading the League in saves in 1916 with 8, and winning 15 games in 1917. Towards the end of the 1919 season he went to the Phillies, and pitched in three games with them before retiring at the end of the year. His career totals were 183 wins-167 losses, 1,702 Strikeouts, 36 saves and a very good 2.63 career ERA. (bio by: Russ Dodge)  Family links:  Children:  Leon Kessling Ames (1906 – 1994)* *Calculated relationship