William Arthur Cummings was born on October 18, 1848 in Ware, MA. He made his professional debut as a professional baseball player on August 14, 1866 as a pitcher with the Brooklyn Excelsior baseball club of the National Association of Baseball Players. He was 17 years old.
At 5'9" tall and 120 pounds he was not an overpowering type pitcher. He achieved success by invented the curveball, a type of pitch that would curve as it approached home plate to the batter. This pitch made him one of the most influential pitchers in baseball history. It also forced the catcher to take a position much closer to the batter, thus changing baseball forever. Cummings rapidly became one of the game’s most dominant pitchers. He picked up the nickname Candy, which at the time was a sobriquet used for people who were excellent at their craft.
During his career he played for Excelsior of Brooklyn (1866–1867) and the Star of Brooklyn (1868–1871) in the National Association of Base Ball Players and then for the New York Mutuals (1872),
Baltimore Canaries (1873), Philadelphia White Stockings (1874), Hartford Dark Blues (1875–1876), and Cincinnati Reds (1877) of the National League.
During his career he had a compiled a 145–94 won-loss record with a 2.49 earned run average and 259 strikeouts. Because of his influence on the game, Cummings was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Game in 1939.