Amos Wilson Rusie (May 30, 1871 – December 6, 1942), nicknamed "The Hoosier Thunderbolt", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the late 19th century. He had a 10-season career in the National League (NL), which consisted of one season with the Indianapolis Hoosiers in , eight with the New York Giants from to , and one with the Cincinnati Reds in . He is best known for the speed in which he pitched a baseball. The velocity of his fastball was unknown, but it has been estimated that he threw it in the mid-to-upper 90s. He led the league in strikeouts five times, and won 20 or more games eight times. Though he did throw hard, he did not have good control of his pitches, leading the league in walks five times and being seventh all-time among the career pitching leaders in that category. In 1890 he walked 289, the all-time single-season record. In 1897, one of his fastballs struck future Hall of Fame shortstop Hughie Jennings in the head, rendering him comatose for four days before recovery. Rusie's wildness had been a catalyst for officials to change the distance from the pitching rubber to home plate from to the current . This ruling was made effective for the season, at the peak of Amos Rusie's pitching prowess. The distance change did not reduce Rusie's effectiveness, as he led the league in strikeouts for three straight seasons afterward, while also winning what later would be known as the pitching triple crown in . For his accomplishments, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977 by the Veterans Committee. Early life Rusie was born on May 30, 1871 in Mooresville, Indiana, to mason and plasterer William Asbury Rusie and his wife Mary Donovan. When he was still young, his family moved to nearby Indianapolis, Indiana, where he eventually quit school to work in a factory. It was during this time, when he was playing for a semi-professional Indianapolis baseball team named the "Sturm Avenue Never Sweats", that scouts first took notice of the speed with which he threw a baseball, and his effectiveness as a pitcher when he shutout touring National League baseball teams, the Boston Beaneaters and the Washington Senators. In , at the age of 18, Rusie signed with the Burlington Babies of the Central Interstate League. However, he was signed shortly