Baseball star’s former home, Machynlleth

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American baseball star Edward Morgan (Ted) Lewis lived in this building as a child. He was born in Machynlleth on Christmas Day 1872. His family moved to New York eight years later. His skill as a baseball pitcher became apparent while he was a college student in Massachusetts.

He played his first major-league game, with the Boston Beaneaters, in 1896. He made the transition to the newly established American League in 1901, playing for the new Boston Americans team – renamed the Boston Red Sox in 1908.

The money he earned from baseball funded further studies, and he gained his Masters degree in 1899. He became known as the “Pitching Professor”. He chose a career in education, and taught elocution and oratory after retiring from baseball in 1901. In 1927 he became president of the University of New Hampshire.

He stood as a Democrat candidate for Congress in 1910. He was defeated but came close to overturning a large Republican majority.

A few years later he met a young man called Robert Frost, who went on to become one of the greatest English-language poets of the 20th century. Ted Lewis’ interest in poetry stemmed from his father, John, whose poetry won prizes at American eisteddfodau (Welsh-language literary and arts festivals). Ted Lewis and Robert Frost remained close friends until Ted Lewis’ death in 1936.

Postcode: SY20 8DG    View Location Map

More on Ted Lewis from the Society for American Baseball Research

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