Cy Young.

Cy Young. Cy Young (1867-1955), American baseball player, whose memory inspired an award for the best major-league pitcher. He was born Denton True Young in Gilmore, Ohio. In 1890, after playing for the Canton, Ohio, team of the Tri-State League, he became a pitcher with the Cleveland club, then in the National League. Leaving the Cleveland team in 1898, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League (1899-1900) and the Boston Red Sox of the American League (1901-1908). On May 5, 1904, Young became the first American League player to pitch a perfect game, that is, to allow no batters to reach first base. He retired from baseball in 1911, after playing two seasons for the Cleveland Indians of the American League and part of a season for the Boston Braves of the National League. During his 22 years in the major leagues Young pitched three no-hit games. He pitched in 906 games and won 511, the latter figure a major league record. In 1937 he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In his honor, the Cy Young Award for the best major league pitcher of the year was established in 1956; since 1967 the award has been given to the best pitcher in each league. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.