Depressions Not Known for Their Pitching

We're doing a bit of research for a writing project and came across this bit describing tours of subterranean Seattle:

Speidel graduated from the University of Washington in 1936, during the throws of the depression, with a degree in literature. Out of school, he landed a job as a reporter for The Seattle Times and also wrote a column for the defunct Seattle Star.

The right word is "throes."