GROVER CLEVELAND ALEXANDER, 1887-1950 Grover Cleveland Alexander was one of major league baseball's winningest pitchers. Born near Elba, Nebraska, in 1887, he played ball with the Central City baseball team, and later during his major league career he pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Chicago Cubs, and the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1938 he was among the first thirteen baseball players named to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.