There were two Pitchers in baseball who were named Dutch Leonard. The first was Hubert “Dutch” Leonard, who was a lefthander who had a 139-113 record with two World Series Championships with the Boston Red Sox. The second was Emil John “Dutch” Leonard, a righthander who may not have had a World Series Ring, but had a much longer tenure and was one of the better knuckleballers in baseball history.
Leonard debuted in 1933 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and while he had a decent 1934 (14-11, 3.28 ERA), he faltered and was back in the minors by 1936. The minors allowed him to perfect his knuckleball, and he was back in the Majors, this time with the Washington Senators, with whom he returned in 1938.
With the Senators, Leonard secured a 20 Win season (1939) and would go to three All-Star Games. He was in the top ten in bWAR for Pitchers and ERA four times with Washington. The knuckleballer was also first in WHIP (1938), and twice in BB/9 (1938 & 1943) as a Senator.
As is typical with many who mastered the knuckleball, Leonard played into his 40s. He was with Philadelphia for two years, and at the age of 40, he joined the Chicago Cubs, where he played five more seasons, including an All-Star season in 1951.
Leonard had 191 Wins against 181 Losses over his career.
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