Tommy Bridges, one of the veterans of the Detroit Tigers, was a star pitcher for the University of Tennessee. He started his professional baseball career with the Wilmington Club in 1929. He was purchased by the Detroit Tigers from Evansville in 1930, and has been one of the mainstays of their pitching staff ever since. Tommy Bridges was a "strikeout king" of the American League in 1935 and 1936, striking out 163 batters in 1935, and 175 batters in 1936. He was also the leading pitcher of the league in 1936, with 23 games won against 11 games lost. Bridges took part in two World Series, with the Detroit Tigers, pitching 5 games, winning 3 and losing 1. His 9-year major-league average shows that he has pitched 280 games, winning 133, and losing 95 - striking out 1078 batters.