Sibling rivalry is a part of life.
There are numerous cases of brother against brother in the history of major league baseball.
Back in 1979, the Underwood brothers from Kokomo (Ind.) joined the ranks in an unique way in Toronto on May 31.
Tom Underwood had been in the big leagues was in his sixth big league season when he started on the mound for the Blue Jays against the Detroit Tigers.
Tom’s counterpart for the Tigers was his brother Pat Underwood, who was making his debut in the majors.
The brothers battled in a scoreless duel until the top of the eighth inning. Detroit’s Jerry Morales smacked a solo homer to lead off the frame against Tom. It would turn out to be the only run in the 1-0 victory by the Tigers.
Tom went on to throw a complete game in the loss allowing six hits with six strikeouts.
On his way to his first big league win, Pat gave up three hits before finding himself in trouble in the bottom of the ninth.
With one out, Toronto’s Alfredo Griffin doubled to end the night for Pat.
Detroit manager Sparky Anderson called on Dave Tobik and John Hiller to get the final two outs, which they did preserving the victory for the rookie.
Pat finished the 1979 season with a 6-4 record and a 4.59 ERA.
Over four seasons with the Tigers, Pat would post a 13-18 mark with his best season coming in 1980. That year, he have five saves with a career-best ERA of 3.59 as he went 3-6. After a season in the minors in 1981, Pat finished his career with the Tigers in 1983.
Post Season
After his debut in 1974, Tom had two good seasons in Philadelphia. He was 14-13 in 1975 and 10-5 the following year when the Phillies on the National League East.
Tom split the 1977 season with the Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals. He was with the Blue Jays in 1978 and 1979.
In 1980, Tom was 13-9 for the New York Yankees as they won the American League East.
As with his 1977 season, Tom pitched for two teams beginning the Yankees and ending with the Oakland A’s, who made won the AL West. He was with the A’s until 1983.
Overall, he was 86-87 as he finished his 11th season with Baltimore in 1984. He passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2010.