Leonard had a successful 20 year career in MLB (1933 to 1953). His final five seasons were spent as a Cub. He joined the Cubs as part of a trade with the Phillies. The Cubs traded Hank Borowy and Eddie Waitkus to the Phillies for Leonard and Monk Dubiel in December of 1948.
Leonard had been a starting pitcher for most of his career, but became a valuable relief pitcher for the Cubs. 28 of his 44 career saves came as a Cub. His record as a Cub was 26 wins, 28 Losses and a 3.60 ERA.
Overall, Leonard finished his career just 9 wins short of 200. Notable about Leonard is that he was one of the first pitchers to rely heavily on the knuckleball. While he would periodically throw a fastball or a slip pitch, his “out” pitch was the knuckleball. Leonard also played for the Dodgers, Senators and Phillies during his 20 seasons. He was selected to the All-Star team four times (1940, 1942, 1943 and 1944). Leonard was the winning pitcher in the 1943 All-Star game.
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