George Joseph Mullin (July 4, 1880 – January 7, 1944), sometimes known by the nickname "Wabash George", was an American right-handed baseball pitcher.
Mullin played in Major League Baseball for 14 seasons with the Detroit Tigers from 1902 to 1913, Washington Senators in 1913, and the Indianapolis Hoosiers/Newark Pepper of the Federal League from 1914 to 1915. He compiled a career record of 228–196 with a 2.82 earned run average (ERA) and 1,482 strikeouts. His 1,244 career assists ranks seventh among major league pitchers. Mullin was also a strong hitter, twice batting over .300 for a season and compiling a career batting average of .262.
In 12 seasons with Detroit, he helped the team win three consecutive American League pennants from 1907 to 1909. He had five 20-win seasons for the Tigers, led the American League with 29 wins in 1909, and ranks second in Detroit Tigers history with 209 wins. He also holds the Detroit Tigers' all-time club records with 3,394 innings pitched and 336 complete games and pitched the first no-hitter in Tigers' history on July 4, 1912.
Early years
Mullin was born in 1880 in Toledo, Ohio, the son of Irish immigrants. He attended St. John's Jesuit High School in Toledo. From 1898 to 1901, he played semipro baseball in Wabash, Indiana, and South Bend, Indiana.
Professional baseball
Fort Wayne
Mullin began playing professional baseball in 1901 with the Fort Wayne Railroaders of the Western Association. During the 1901 season, he appeared in 47 games and compiled a 21–20 record with a 3.48 ERA over 367 innings.
Detroit Tigers
Mautner controversy
Mullin's career with the Detroit Tigers began with controversy. Mullin signed to play for the Tigers late in the 1901 season. He subsequently signed a contract with Ned Hanlon's Brooklyn Superbas as well as having signed to play for the Fort Wayne club in 1902. The owner of the Fort Wayne club, Isadore Mautner, sought to have Mullin charged criminally with taking money under false pretenses and perjury. Mautner sent detectives to have Mullin arrested when the Tigers visited Chicago in April, but Mautner's plan was frustrated when Detroit officials moved Mullin (in disguise) out of the team hotel. In May, Mautner sought Mullin's extradition to Indiana, but the Governor of Indiana refused to sign the papers, concluding that the dispute was civil rather than criminal in nature. In July, Mullin was removed by police when the Tigers' train stopped in Fort Wayne on returning from St. Louis. A judge promptly released Mullin, holding that Mautner's remedy was a civil action for damages. Mullin quickly left town before Mautner could have a new warrant finalized.
Mautner later persuaded a grand jury to bring criminal charges against Mullin, and the saga continued to capture headlines well into 1903. In the end, the dispute was resolved in late 1903 with a payment of $1,000 to Mautner.
1902–1906
In his first season in Detroit, Mullin immediately showed his ability as a workhorse and as a batsman, but struggled with his pitch control and overall effectiveness. He appeared in 35 games for the 1902 Tigers, 30 of them as a starter and 25 of them complete games. He compiled a 13–16 record with a 3.67 ERA (slightly higher than the league average of 3.57). He also led the American League with 13 wild pitches and ranked fourth with 95 batters walked. At the plate, he compiled an impressive .325 batting average and .367 on-base percentage with four doubles, three triples, and 11 RBIs.
One of the most impressive outings of Mullin's rookie year came on July 31, 1902, when he held Washington to only two hits and managed three hits and two runs in his own plate appearances. Two weeks later, on August 18, Mullin faced Boston's star pitcher Cy Young. The game ended in a 4–4 tie when the game was called due to darkness after 11 innings. Three of Boston's runs were scored on errors by Detroit's fielders. Mullin and Young met as starting pitchers 10 times over the next seven years; Mullin won six of those games to four for Young.