09/27/2026
Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On September 25, 1976, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Urban Clearance “Red” Faber of Cascade, Iowa, died. A star right-handed pitcher for the Chicago White Sox from 1914 to 1933, the iconic spitballer spun his way to 254 wins over a storied career.
Faber was born on a farm outside Cascade, a town on the border of Dubuque and Jones counties in eastern Iowa, in September 1888. The son of a successful hotelier and tavern owner, Faber attended private academies in Dubuque and Prairie du Chien. Faber first appears in the annals of Iowa baseball, pitching for a Dubuque Sunday League team for $2 a week at sixteen.
At Loras College (then St. Joseph’s), Faber shone on the mound over a single season. Against rival St. Ambrose, the young pitcher struck out 24 batters in a nine-inning game. Minor League scouts quickly took notice, and a contract with the Dubuque Miners of Class B soon followed. Over a few years in the minors at several stops, a perfect game against Davenport helped propel Faber toward the big leagues.
In 1914, Faber broke into the show with the Chicago White Sox and proved a reliable pitcher both as a starter and in relief. When the league banned the spitball in 1920, Faber was one of seventeen pitchers allowed to keep throwing it until retirement. After finishing his career with a 254-213 record, a 3.15 ERA, and 1,471 strikeouts, the Baseball Writers Association of America elected Faber to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964.
