Joss, who was 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg), pitched the fourth perfect game in baseball history (which, additionally, was only the second of the modern era).

Joss did not sign with Mack's team, but he attracted further major league interest after winning 19 games in 1900 for the Toledo Mud Hens.

In 1908, he pitched a perfect game during a tight pennant race that saw Cleveland finish a half-game out of first place; it was the closest that Joss came to a World Series berth.

[3][4] His parents Jacob and Theresa (née Staudenmeyer) were farmers; his father, a cheesemaker who was involved in local politics, had emigrated from Switzerland.

[6]: p.21  During his time on the semipro circuit, Joss employed his unique pitching windup, which involved hiding the ball until the very last moment in his delivery.

Home plate umpire Bob Caruthers ruled that Harvey did not make a clean catch, so Burkett was credited with a hit.

"[14] In what proved to be one of the tightest ever pitching duels in a perfect game, Joss took the mound for the Naps, while the White Sox pitcher was future Hall of Famer Ed Walsh.

[16] Walsh, blistering through his own 39 win season, struck out 15 batters, gave up only one base on balls and allowed only four scattered hits by the Naps.

The tension in the ballpark was described by one writer as "a mouse working his way along the grandstand floor would have sounded like a shovel scraping over concrete.

Joss made his last appearance of the season on July 25, and left the game in the fifth inning due to arm soreness.

Joss' repertoire included a fastball, a "slow ball" (today known as a changeup), and an "extremely effective" curve.

[30] Baseball historians Rob Neyer and Bill James ranked Joss' fastball third (1900–1904) and sixth (1905–1909) in the major leagues.

[31] George Moriarty explained that Joss had only one curveball because "he believed that with a few well mastered deliveries he could acquire great control and success with less strain on his arm.

"[33] Shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh described his windup: "He would turn his back toward the batter as he wound up, hiding the ball all the while, and then whip around and fire it in.

[5] Joss was concerned about supporting his family after his baseball career ended; many players of the day had little education and few marketable job skills beyond their abilities on the diamond.

As sportswriter Franklin Lewis wrote, "Only a handful of players in the rough, stirring, early days of the major leagues arrived from campuses.

His writings proved so popular that sales of the paper increased and a special phone line was installed in his office to field the large volume of calls he received from fans.

"[10] An editorial in the Toledo Blade said, "In taking his vocation seriously, [Joss] was, in return, taken seriously by the people, who recognized in him a man of more than usual intelligence and one who would have adorned any profession in which he had elected to engage.

[8]: p.200  As early as April 7, press reports had taken note of his ill health, but speculated about "ptomaine poisoning" or "nervous indigestion.

"[29]: p.28  The Naps traveled to Toledo for exhibition games on April 10 and Joss went to his home on Fulton Street where he was seen by his personal physician, Dr. George W.

On April 13, Chapman sought a second opinion from the Naps' team doctor, who performed a lumbar puncture and diagnosed Joss with tuberculous meningitis.

Upon hearing of his death, the Press wrote "every train brings flowers" and "floral tributes by the wagonload are hourly arriving at the Joss home from all sections of the country.

American League president Ban Johnson initially supported the Tigers' position, but he ultimately sided with the Naps.

Visiting club players who were involved in the game included Home Run Baker, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Sam Crawford, Walter Johnson, Tris Speaker, Gabby Street, and Smoky Joe Wood.

[39]: p.10  The game was attended by approximately 15,270 fans and raised nearly $13,000 ($425,000 today) to help Joss' family members pay remaining medical bills.

[39]: p.11 Boston Globe sports editor Jason Nason campaigned for Joss' induction into the Hall of Fame starting in the 1950s.

Joss had been on the Cleveland roster in 1911 and participated in spring training, falling ill just before regular season play commenced.

[2][43] Joe Reichler, a member of the Commissioner's office, worked to allow Joss to become eligible for the Hall and succeeded in 1977.

They described what they called "the Smoky Joe Wood Syndrome", where a player of truly exceptional talent has a career curtailed by injury or illness.

Baseball author John Tierney wrote: "Joss is remembered for a remarkably low career ERA, but he pitched in a time before earned runs were compiled as an official statistic, and his career ended in 1910, before the American League introduced its new baseball in 1911, leading to a nearly 25 percent increase in runs scored.