James Sanford Lavender (March 25, 1884 – January 12, 1960) was an American professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher from 1912 to 1917. He played a total of five seasons with the Chicago Cubs of the National League from 1912 to 1916; after being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, he played an additional season in 1917. During his playing days, his height was listed at , his weight as , and he batted and threw right-handed. Born in Barnesville, Georgia, he began his professional baseball career in minor league baseball in 1906 at the age 22. He worked his way through the system over the next few seasons, culminating with a three-season stint with the Providence Grays of the Eastern League from 1909 to 1911. Lavender primarily threw the spitball, and used it to win 16 games as a 28-year-old rookie in 1912. In July 1912, he defeated Rube Marquard, ending Marquard's consecutive win streak at 19 games, which at the time tied the record for the longest win streak for a pitcher in MLB history. Lavender's early success as a rookie soon turned to mediocrity as his career progressed, winning no more than 11 games in any season afterward. On August 31, 1915, he threw a no-hitter against the New York Giants. He was traded to the Phillies before the 1917 season, and he played one season for the team, winning six games before retiring from major league baseball. Lavender returned to Georgia, worked on his farm in Montezuma, Georgia, and played professional baseball in an independent league. He died in Cartersville, Georgia at the age of 75. Early life James Sanford Lavender was born on March 25, 1884 in Barnesville, Georgia into a wealthy family. He attended public schools until the age of 15, when he was enrolled at Gordon College, a military academy located in Barnesville. He played little baseball while there, but he did enjoy participating in football. He later attended Georgia Tech and studied mechanical engineering; he played a few games for his class' baseball team as well. Minor league career In 1906, at the age of 22, he began his professional baseball career with the Cordele team in the class-D Georgia State League. The following season, he was promoted to the Danville Red Sox of the class-C Virginia League. On May 15, he pitched the Red Sox to