Richard William "Rube" Marquard (October 9, 1886 – June 1, 1980) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball in the 1910s and early 1920s.

Marquard quit school after the fifth grade; biographer Larry Mansch writes that he "simply refused to attend any longer".

In September, the City League season finished and he signed with the semiprofessional Telling Strollers, an independent team sponsored by an ice cream company.

[7] The New York Giants purchased Marquard for $11,000 — a then unheard-of sum to pay for a baseball player's contract — and his lack of success early in his major-league career led to his being tagged "the $11,000 lemon".

From 1911 to 1913, Marquard won at least 23 games each season, and helped the Giants win three consecutive National League pennants.

Upon being told by a friend that opals were a jinx, he threw the pin into a river, but apparently, the curse had already done its work, as he lost his next decision.

[8] His 1,593 strikeouts ranked third in major-league history among left-handers at the time (behind Rube Waddell and Eddie Plank), and stood as the National League record for southpaws until his total was surpassed by Carl Hubbell, another New York Giant, in 1942.

"[13] Marquard had been interviewed for the popular 1966 baseball book, The Glory of Their Times, and his chapter is thought to be one of the primary reasons for his election.