A four-time World Series champion, Pearson holds the MLB record for lowest walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) in the postseason.

[1] He was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints[2] and was one of the first Mormons to find success in the major leagues.

[6] He worked as a mechanic as one of his first jobs, and his ability to sing and play the guitar helped develop his reputation as a positive influence on the clubhouse throughout his major league career.

[5][8] His performance that year, coupled with his heavy-breaking curveball, caught the attention of the Cleveland Indians, who promptly bought his contract after the season ended.

He played the rest of the season for the Toledo Mud Hens of the American Association (AA),[5] where continued his dismal performance with a 3–9 record and 3.99 ERA.

[8] However, he improved significantly the following year,[5] posting an 11–5 record and 3.41 ERA in 148 innings with the Mud Hens,[8] as well as leading the AA in strikeouts at the time he was called back up to the majors.

[10] His pitching during the first half of the season prompted the Indians to bring him back up to the first team in early July.

[1] In spite of 13 losses, a 4.52 ERA,[5] 130 walks (the second-highest in the AL) and 15 wild pitches (the most in MLB),[1][12] this was considered one of his best seasons.

[5] Pearson was traded at the end of the season to the New York Yankees with Steve Sundra in exchange for Johnny Allen.

In arguably his best start of the year, he threw a one-hit shutout against the Chicago White Sox on May 10; he also recorded three hits and drove in two runs in the 7–0 win.

Facing a familiar foe in the New York Giants, Pearson stymied them to a solitary run in 8+2⁄3 innings pitched and received the win as the Yankees cruised to a 5–1 victory,[29] taking a commanding 3–0 lead in the Series.

The Yankees eventually triumphed in 5 games,[30] giving Pearson his second World Series ring in as many years with the team.

[1] As a result, his inclusion on the postseason roster was not guaranteed; in late September, McCarthy appeared resigned to the fact that Pearson would not "be able to help [him] in this series.

Facing the Cincinnati Reds, he held them hitless through 7+1⁄3 innings pitched—eventually giving up just two singles—while striking out eight and walking one in a complete game, 4–0 victory.

[1] He received treatment at the Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore,[49][50] and at the end of the season, he was placed on waivers[5] and traded to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Don Lang and $20,000.

[52] However, he was unable to rediscover his pre-injury form; in his first start for the Reds,[53] Pearson was battered by the opposing team, giving up six earned runs and five walks to the Chicago Cubs before being pulled out of the game after only 1+1⁄3 innings.

[1] This dismal showing convinced the Reds to cut ties with Pearson, and he was sold to the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League on August 21.

[5] During the 1939 offseason, Pearson was nearly killed while hunting with William Rudolph, a 15-year-old high school baseball player from Fresno.

"[60] In 1942, during a leave of absence away from baseball to recover from injury, Pearson worked at the Fresno Air National Guard Base as a firefighter.

[64] On May 15, 1962, Pearson was arrested and charged with accepting bribes in exchange for approving shoddy septic tanks.

[13] After a long battle with cancer,[65] Pearson died on January 27, 1978, in Fresno, California, at the age of 69 and was cremated.

Together with teammate Red Ruffing, they held a combined 8–1 record and a 1.79 ERA spanning from the 1936–39 World Series, and the two are viewed as one of the most dominant postseason pitching duos of all time.