Late Bloomers: Sam Jones
He had two nicknames, and they both fit him well.
The first one was borrowed from an earlier pitcher with the same name. The first Sam Jones won 229 big league games from 1914 to 1935, spread pretty equally between four American League teams for the most part, and was labeled “Sad Sam” because he wore his hat low over his eyes and that gave someone the impression that he was downcast. Like his latter day namesake, he had a second nickname, too. It was “Horsewhip,” slapped on his because of the sharp break of his curveball.
About a decade into his career, another Sam Jones was born, and he’d be called Sad Sam because, well, he sort of looked sad. There are plenty of photos of Jones smiling, but he did have a bit of Resting Sad Face, and the fact that another pitcher with the same name was known as Sad Sam probably accelerated the application of it to him, too.
The second nickname had came about a bit more honestly. It was “Toothpick,” for the obvious reason that he generally had a toothpick in his mouth. He even pitched with it, though it’s hard now to track down game photos that show it. Being tall (6’4”) and somewhat slim when he started his career probably helped that nickname along.
