ST. LOUIS -- Dr. Hubert S. 'Shucks' Pruett, a former pitcher with the old St. Louis Browns who struck out Babe Ruth in 15 of 30 confrontations, died Thursday of cancer at age 81.
'If all pitchers were like you, no one would have heard of me,' Ruth said to Pruett in 1948 when the two men spoke for the first time.
Pruett, who gave up only four hits to Ruth, thanked the Babe 'for sending me through medical school.' Pruett reported the conversation in a 1961 interview.
Pruett, of Malden, Mo., pitched for the University of Missouri from 1919-21 while enrolled in pre-med studies.
He picked up the nickname 'Shucks' because he often used the expression when he was a boy.
Pruett signed with the Browns in 1921. He became famous in the next three seasons, especially in 1922 when he struck out Ruth 10 of the first 13 times they met on the field.
Ruth, who had a lifetime batting average of .342, hit only .190 against Pruett, a left-hander famous for a fadeaway pitch.
Pruett began studying medicine in 1924 at St. Louis University. He continued his studies while playing with the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Giants and the Boston Braves. He earned his degree in 1932 and left baseball the same year.
In 1973, Pruett retired from general medicine, which he had practiced for 41 years in north St. Louis. His wife, Elise Borgmann Pruett, died in 1972.
