Yankees Birthday of the Day: Ivy Andrews

Q: What teams did Ivy Paul Andrews play for in Major League Baseball?

Ivy Paul Andrews played for the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox during his MLB career.

Q: What were Ivy Paul Andrews' career statistics in Major League Baseball?

Andrews had a career record of 42 wins and 53 losses with a 4.29 ERA over his time in the majors.

Q: When was Ivy Paul Andrews born and when did he pass away?

Ivy Paul Andrews was born on May 6, 1907, and passed away on November 24, 1970.

Q: What nickname was Ivy Paul Andrews known by during his baseball career?

Ivy Paul Andrews was known by the nickname 'Poison Ivy' during his baseball career.

Bubble gum insert card (from the Tattoo Gum Company) features a colorized photograph of American baseball player Ivy Paul Andrews (1907 - 1970) , of the Boston Red Sox, 1933. (Photo by Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images) | Getty Images Is there anything better than old-timey baseball nicknames? Today, another Hall of Fame-caliber nickname, “Poison” Ivy Paul Andrews, would have celebrated his 119th birthday. Born to a Walker County, Alabama coal mining family in the spring of 1907, Andrews’ father worked in the coal mines, as several of his siblings did, and for a time it looked like that might be his path as well. However, a young Andrews grew into one of the best athletes in the area, and that gave him a way out of the mines and into a professional baseball career. **Ivy Paul Andrews** *Born:* May 6, 1907 (Dora, AL) *Died:* November 24, 1970 (Birmingham, AL) *Yankees Tenures:* 1931-32, 1937-38 Andrews’ road to the majors was similar to many players of the time. It started after he finished high school in 1926 and signed to play with a semi-professional team. As a right-handed pitcher, Andrews featured a fastball, curveball, knuckleball, and later in his career, a screwball. A true junk baller, old scouting reports say Andrews had a funky delivery, several breaking pitches that hitters would get mad chasing, and was a good change of pace from other pitchers of the time. After his brief and rough debut in 1927 for the Selma Selmians of the Southeastern League, he found his footing the following season. In 1928, he tossed 256 innings and posted an 18-12 record with a 2.47 ERA for the Meridian Mets in the Class D Cotton States League. In 1929, Andrews was pitching for the Mobile Bears. That season, he had posted a 9-7 record with a 2.45 ERA, and that performance led to the Yankees purchasing his contract. Andrews was still a good way from the majors, though. He spent the end of the 1929 season with the Albany Senators, then split the 1930 season between the Birmingham Barons and the Oakland Oaks. Andrews’ first opportunity in the big leagues came in 1931. Yankees manager handed him the ball for his major league debut in August of that season, and Andrews picked up his first major league win in memorable fashion. He tossed a complete game against the Jimmie Foxx-led Philadelphia Athletics, a powerhouse at the time, and even contributed at the plate with his first hit and a pair of runs driven in to boot. Andrews went on to make three starts and appear in seven games total in 1931. His final line was a 2-0 record, 34.1 innings pitched, and a 4.19 ERA. Andrews started the 1932 season with the Yankees. He appeared in four games, making one start, before battling influenza and lumbago, which sidelined him for several weeks. After rehabbing in Albany, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox on June 5th, along with Hank Johnson and $50,000, for Danny MacFayden. That move took Andrews off the eventual World Series champion Yankees, but gave him something he had not fully secured in New York: a bigger and more defined role. In a fun twist, the Yankees tried to give Andrews, along with other players they had traded that season, some of the World Series winnings. However, commissioner Kenesaw Landis prevented the gift. Landis ruled that “a player released to another club in the same league shall not participate in the proceeds of such series as a present or reward from his former teammates,” so unfortunately for Andrews, he was not allowed to receive the $500 bonus. Andrews spent the rest of 1932 and all of the 1933 season with Boston. He was one of the brighter spots on the roster, but the team struggled overall. In his two seasons with the Red Sox, he posted a 15-19 record with a 4.38 ERA, making 36 starts and appearing in 59 games total. In December of 1933, the Red Sox traded Andrews and Smead Jolley (quite a trade return in terms of the literal names) to the St. Louis Browns for Carl Reynolds. Andrews spent the next three seasons in , the longest uninterrupted tenure of his career. Over those three years, Andrews went 24-30 with a 4.29 ERA, starting about half of the 129 games he appeared in for the Browns. In January of 1937, the Browns traded Andrews, Lyn Lary, and Moose Solters to the for future Yankee , Bill Knickerbocker, and Joe Vosmik. The 1937 season was Andrews’ only one in Cleveland, and it lasted only until August. In , he went 3-4 with a 4.37 ERA in 20 games, mostly as a reliever near the back end of his career. Cleveland placed him on waivers, and the Yankees purchased him for $7,500. It was a full-circle career moment for Andrews, and with Spud Chandler battling injuries, the Yankees needed another arm as they made a run for another title. Andrews contributed three wins in five starts and appeared in 11 games for the Yankees down the stretch. The team went on to win the World Series, and Andrews appeared in one game of the Fall Classic. He provided 5.2 innings of relief in what would be his only postseason appearance. The following season for the Yankees, he quietly put together an unusual statistical footnote. In 1938, Andrews posted a 3.00 ERA, albeit in only 48 innings, which at the time technically qualified him for the league lead. Later interpretations of the rule adjusted that distinction, but for a brief period of time, Andrews was listed as the American League ERA leader for 1938. Andrews’ MLB career wound down soon after. He spent several more seasons in the minors before eventually stepping away from the game. Like many players of his era, he returned to a more traditional life, working as a carpenter and contractor while remaining connected to sports as an official in the Birmingham area. Andrews passed away in 1970 at the age of 63. While he might not have the résumé of others, the nickname alone might be enough to stand the test of time. Happy birthday, Poison Ivy, or as you were better known to your teammates, Paul. *See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series*.