Charles Albert "Chief" Bender (May 5, 1884 – May 22, 1954) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball during the 1900s and 1910s. In 1911, Bender tied a record by pitching three complete games in a single World Series. He finished his career with a 212–127 win–loss record for a .625 winning percentage and a career 2.46 earned run average (ERA).
After his major league playing career, Bender's roles in baseball included major league coach, minor league manager and player-manager, college manager, and professional scout. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953, and died the following year.
Early life
Bender was born in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, as a member of the Ojibwe tribe. His father was German and his mother was part Chippewa. As a child, he was named Mandowescence, which might be translated into English as "Little Spirit Animal". His family had on the White Earth Indian Reservation near Bemidji, Minnesota. His father taught him to farm on the reservation. He graduated from Carlisle Indian Industrial School and attended Dickinson College.
Baseball career
Early career
Bender debuted in the major leagues in 1903. He is one of only a few pitchers in the 20th century to throw 200 or more innings at the age of 19. His walks per nine innings rate were 2.17; only a few pitchers since 1893 have had a rate below 2.2 at the age of 20 or younger. That year, he also won a game against Cy Young and met his future wife Marie.
In 1905, Bender earned an 18–11 win–loss record with a 2.83 ERA, helping the A's win the AL pennant; but they lost the World Series in five games to the New York Giants. Bender went 1–1, 1.06 ERA in the series, pitching a 4-hit, 3–0 complete-game shutout in Game 2, striking out 9, and again went the distance in Game 5, giving up just two earned runs in eight innings and losing 2–0 to Christy Mathewson.
After solid seasons in 1906 (15–10, 2.53), 1907 (16–8, 2.05), 1908 (8–9 despite a 1.75 ERA), and 1909 (18–8, 1.66), he led the Athletics to the AL pennant in 1910, as Philadelphia went 102–48, games ahead of the second-place New York Highlanders. Bender led the AL in winning percentage, at .821, going 23–5 with a 1.58 ERA. He went 1–1 with a 1.93 ERA in the World Series as the A's beat the Chicago Cubs, who had gone 104–50 in the regular season, in five games. Bender pitched a complete-game three-hitter in the opener, striking out 8 and giving up only one unearned run. He lost Game 4 of the series in another complete-game effort, 4–3 in 10 innings. Bender pitched all innings for the Athletics, striking out 6.
Later career
In 1911, he led the AL in winning percentage again (.773), going 17–5 with a 2.16 ERA as the A's won their second consecutive AL pennant, going 101–50 and finishing games ahead of the Detroit Tigers. In a rematch of the 1905 World Series, the Athletics got their revenge, defeating the New York Giants and becoming the first American League team to win back-to-back World Series (the Chicago Cubs from the NL had won back-to-back titles in 1907 and 1908). After losing the opener 2–1 to Christy Mathewson, though pitching a complete game, giving up just 5 hits and 2 runs (1 earned run) and striking out 11, he returned in Game 4, beating the Giants 4–2 on a complete game 7-hitter, and closed out the Series in game 6 with a 13–2 A's victory. Bender again went the distance (his 3rd complete game of the series), a 4-hit performance which he gave up no earned runs (the two Giants runs were unearned). He went 2–1, with 1.04 ERA and 3 complete games in the series.
In 1912 Bender was 13–8 with a 2.74 ERA. He did not start for nearly 40 games late in the year and was suspended by the A's in September for alcohol abuse. His next contract had a clause saying he had to abstain from drinking to earn his full salary. In 1913, he went 21–10 with a 2.21 ERA, helping the A's win their third AL pennant in four years. They would also make it three World Series titles in four years by defeating the Giants in five games. Bender went 2–0 in the series with complete-game victories in Games 1 and 4.
He led the AL in winning percentage (.850) for the third time in 1914, going 17–3 with a 2.26 ERA, and the A's would win their fourth AL pennant in five years. But the Philadelphia Athletics would be swept by the underdog Boston Braves, with Bender losing Game 1 7–1 and giving up 6 earned runs in innings. It was the only World Series game he failed to finish, after completing his previous nine starts in the Fall Classic.